KIllaleigh Castle

Situated on flat pasture with extensive views. An early seventeenth-century Z-plan fortified house (TN010-017001), four storeys high, built with roughly coursed limestone rubble. A possiblE original bawn wall is located to the SW of the fortified house with nineteenth-century outhouses attached to the internal face. According to Craig (1982, 129) this was an O'Connor house, with a datestone of 1601 - the location of this datestone is unknown. The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Tipperary. Vol. 1 - North Tipperary' compiled by Jean Farrelly and Caimin O'Brien (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 22 September 2008

Built in the early seventeenth century as a Z-plan fortified house, KIllaleigh Castle, Sopwell was likely constructed by a local gentry family for defensive and residential purposes. Its architectural design and use of limestone rubble reflect the regional building traditions of the period, making it a notable example of early modern Irish domestic architecture.