Castle

Situated on Abbey Street within Ennis historic town (CL033-082----). One of two stone houses erected c. 1577 between Ennis Friary (CL033-082001-) and the S-N river Fergus c. 30m to the W for the reception of guests. One of these houses became known as the ‘Earl of Thomond’s’ house. In 1672 a small turret in Ennis together with a boat-slip ‘parcel of the late Abbey of Ennis’ was leased to Donough O’Brien of Leamaneh. In 1682 it is referred to as the ‘old decaying house of the earl of Thomond’. In his will of 1717 Donough bequeathed the ‘castle of Ennis’ to his grandson, Edward O’Brien of Dromoland. A castle on the riverside close to the Franciscan friary was removed c. 1835 when some of its stones may have been used to build the Club Bridge (CL033-082014-) c. 100m to the N, although no medieval stone is visible in the bridge. Remnants of the castle were noted in April 2013 in the rear return of a house on Abbey Street in an Environmental Impact Statement connected with the Fergus River flood relief scheme. The two-storey return (ext. dims. 9.75m E-W; 7m N-S) has thick walls (T 1.35m). On the ground floor a window high in the W wall is probably in an original embrasure for a small light, and a segmental-arched embrasure in the same wall (now blocked) could contain a fireplace (pers. comm. R. Ua Cróinín and F. Coyne, SMR file). (Frost 1893; Ó Dálaigh 2012, 2, 15, 24) Compiled by: Mary Tunney 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attached document with details from Risteárd Ua Cróinín and Martin Breen, The Castles and Tower-houses of Co. Clare (unpublished report).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: 11 December 2014

Built around 1577, the tower house in Clonroad Beg was one of two stone houses constructed near Ennis Friary to accommodate guests. It is remembered as part of the historic urban and monastic landscape of Ennis, reflecting late 16th-century architectural and social practices in the region.