
What is recorded here
Knockanalban Castle belonged to the Mac Brody family during the 17th century, though no written history survives to confirm the arrangement. Two drystone walls still break through grass on a slight rise, maybe marking rooms where people argued, loved or raged before forgetting them. The absence of records does not mean absence of life; it means the state arrived later with its ledgers and wanted the castle to fit a file.
On a slight rise in a low-lying area. Listed as a castle by O'Donovan in 1839 (OS Letters, 193) and Frost (1893, 148), there are no historical references, although it is associated with the Mac Brody family in the 17th century. A drystone-built wall (L 6m; Wth 1m; H 1.3m) running NNE-SSW with a second drystone wall (L 7m; Wth 2.5m; H 0.8m) running ESE from its N end may be on the lines of the original walls. They are at the S edge of a circular grass-covered raised area (diam. c. 30m N-S; 28m E-W) defined by a scarp (H 0.8-1.2m) which remains unplanted in a coniferous forest and which is described as a possible crannog with another carnnog, of which there is now no visible evidence, 50m to W (Gleeson 1989).
Compiled by: Michael Moore
See attached document with details from Risteárd Ua Cróinín and Martin Breen, The Castles and Tower-houses of Co. Clare (unpublished report). Uploaded courtesy of R. Ua Cróinín and M. Breen.
Date of upload: 12 December 2014
The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.
- What survives
- Recorded monument
Places near here
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