Garraunboy Castle (in ruins)

Westropp (1906-7, 220) recorded the following details about Garraunboy (Garrán Buí) Castle and bawn (LI021-070001-); 'Garranbuidhe (O'Donovan, O.S.L., 8, p. 250), "The yellow wood" (Fitzgerald, i., p. 253); locally the "Yellow garden." 1583 Hugh Wall, or Falltagh, of Dunmoylin, when he joined the rebellion, owned Garrenboye C[astle]. (Des. R., 69). 1615 Held by Ol[iver]. Stephenson, of Dunmoylin, and confirmed to Ric. his son (Inq. Chan., 15b and 24b; Pat. R.). Confiscated from his representatives, 1655 (C.S., p. 52). Fabric - The O.S.L. only note it as "a ruin on a plain." It is an oblong peel tower 30 feet [9.1m] by 46 feet [14m], outside. The main wing had four wooden floors covered by a stone vault; there is a skew-loop on the second floor opening at the north-west angle, and another on the third floor at the north-east. There are numerous ambries and ogee headed window-slits. The end wing has the usual spiral stair with doors to each story to the south-west, and five stories with small rooms to the south-east. The lower rooms and top story are under vaults. All the southern face and most of the side walls of this part are gone. The peel stands in a bawn 63 feet [19.2m] east and west, 82 feet [25m] north and south. The walls 3 feet [0.9m] at top, and battered out to 6 feet [1.8m] below. The south wall and south-west turret are levelled. Turrets with vaulted roofs and 12 feet [3.65m] diameter, inside, remain at the three other angles. The peel tower dates from about the middle of the fifteenth century'. The 1654-56 Civil Survey of Limerick recorded that Richard Stephenson of Dunmoylan, an Irish Papist, was the owner of Garraunboy which contained 'a ruined castle & bawne' (Simington 1938, 293). Classified by Donnelly (1999, 22, 37) as a Type 1A tower house which consists of a castle where the; 'ground floor entrance to the building leads to an entrance lobby. To one side of the entrance lobby is a doorway leading to a spiral staircase set in a corner of the building. To the other side is a doorway leading into a small chamber - the subsidiary chamber. The entrance lobby provides a direct route of access through to the main chamber.' Castle and bawn described by Salter (2004, 83) as follows; 'The outer wall of the thick end wall of a five storey tower 14m long by 9m wide has fallen although the rest still stands high, with a vault over the fourth storey. Closely surrounding the tower are remains of a small rectangular bawn with four D-shaped flankers between 4m and 5m in external diameter. One still retains a vault and three gunloops'. See attached plan of castle taken from Westropp 1906-7. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 3 December 2020 See attached ASI aerial photographs ASIAP – taken on 04/03/2006.