Graigone Castle (in ruins)

On a low rise of ground on flat pasture with good views in all directions. Clogher Castle (TS046-038----) lies 300m to the ESE and Clogher Church (TS046-039----) lies 400m to the SSE. The poorly preserved remains of a three storey 17th-century fortified L-plan house constructed from roughly coursed limestone rubble with a base-batter. Only the NW end of the building survives with the partial remains of the NW (L 6.9m; overall L 8.6m; wall T 1m) and NE (L 4.3m) walls surviving with a two-storey garderobe tower (int. dims. 1.85m N-S; 1.55m E-W; wall T 0.6m) at the N angle. The ground floor is accessed from a destroyed doorway (Wth 1.4m) at the N end of the NW wall with a bar slot visible in the thickness of the NW wall. A slit ope window is visible in the NW wall, with a possible gun loop on either side of the window embrasure. All floors were wooden carried on floor joists. The garderobe tower was accessed from a narrow segmental-arched doorway in the N angle at first-floor level with an internal rebate for the door frame. There is a destroyed window in the NW wall with a possible destroyed oriel window at the E end of the NE wall. The latter feature appears to be corbelled out beyond the external face of the NE wall at first-floor level with the garderobe tower supporting the NW side of this feature. Only the NW embrasure of this feature survives making precise identification impossible. There was a possible lean-to roof over the garderobe. No cut stone survives in the window surrounds. It was described in the OS Letters (1840) as a small fragment of a castle (O'Flanagan 1930, vol.1, 104). Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011

Built by the MacMahon family in the 15th century, Graigone Castle is remembered as a historic stronghold associated with the Gaelic lords of Oriel, reflecting the region's medieval political and cultural heritage.