Castlebanny

Castlebanny rises four storeys high in the Kilkenny countryside, its thick limestone walls and clockwise spiral staircase built to give right-handed defenders a deadly edge during the violent medieval frontier. Gun loops beside arrow slits mark the moment firearms changed warfare, while local tradition claims Cromwell's campaign drove the last people from the tower in the 17th century. Cattle now graze where armed retainers once kept watch, but the roofless structure still commands the land, preserving the stubborn belief that stone walls could defeat destiny.