Why this matters
Built by an unknown local Gaelic lord, the Bawn in Abbeycartron was besieged by the O’Farrells in 1641 during the Irish Confederate Wars, highlighting its strategic role in regional conflicts.
What is recorded here
Associated with a fortified house (LF013-062----). The house and bawn were besieged by the O’Farrells in 1641 when they attempted to ‘take the said castle by force, by erecting ladders to scale the walls and endeavouring to set the gate on fire with a barrel of pitch and rosin’ (Hickson 1884, vol. 1, 346). Another account of this event refers to ‘the castle gate towards Thomas Allen’s house, upon the green near the church’ (ibid., 345). This gateway would have accessed the bawn and it appears to have opened onto Church St facing St. John’s church (LF013-026001-). In 1774 Lord Longford offered ‘his castle’ to the government (Roberts 1899, 221) as the site for the new cavalry barracks. The bawn was probably levelled during the construction of the barracks and no visible surface trace survives.
Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien
Date of upload: 13 June 2012
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