What is recorded here

Kilcoursey Castle stands on a steep hill in County Offaly, its limestone tower built to watch the land in every direction. The destroyed second floor and missing doorway suggest a busy home where people climbed narrow stairs, stored goods below and looked out from high windows. What is gone is easy to imagine because the shape of the rooms still points to daily life: a small strong place set above the valley, not a dead ruin but a house that time has thinned.

Located on top of a hill with good extensive views in all directions. The hill is steeply sloped at S which may have acted as a natural form of defence for the castle. The tower house is built of roughly coursed limestone rubble and was originally three storeys high however the second floor is now destroyed with evidence of a wall walk surviving at NE corner. The bawn wall (OF008-016001-) runs from the SW corner in a W direction and rejoins the Tower house on its NE corner thus defending the original doorway which is now destroyed but was located at the centre of the N wall. This destroyed doorway gave access to the ground floor (int. dims. 5.5m N-S by 4m E-W, wall T 1.15m) with attic which had a barrel vaulted roof. The wooden floor of this attic measured 1.95m above ground floor level. First floor accessed by mural stairs in the N wall (Wth 0.6m). This stairways leads up to the NE corner of the first floor (int. dims. 5m by 5m) which was well lit by a large destroyed window at the E end of the S wall. There are several musket loops present on the S and W walls. Access to the stairs is through a destroyed door on the NW corner of the first floor which leads to the destroyed second floor which had a door in its NE corner. The ground floor with attic above was probably the storage area with the first and second floors being the main living area. The first floor had a wooden roof with evidence of stone corbels on the W wall located 2m above floor level. The musket loops at ground floor were located on the S and E walls which indicates that these walls were not protected by a bawn wall. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Offaly' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 23 May 2011

Kilcoursey Castle is a 15th-century tower house believed to have been built by the Fitzgerald family, the influential Earls of Kildare. Its strategic hilltop location highlights its importance as a defensive structure in the medieval Irish landscape.

This remains an important historical record, but the official description says the monument is no longer visible or has been destroyed. The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.