Castletown Castle (in Ruins) — Muckinish (bunratty Upper By.)

On a rise in a low-lying landscape. A rectangular 16th-century tower house (ext. dims. 11.6m NE-SW; 9.4m NW-SE) surviving to two storeys beneath a barrel vault (H 12m). It is at the SE angle of a recangular bawn (CL034-014001-) (int. dims. 28m NE-SW; 22m NW-SE) defined by earth and stone banks (Wth 4-5.8m; int. H 0.6-0.8m; ext. H 1.7-2.7m) on all sides, except the SW. In 1570 this castle was owned by Brian, son of Mahon O'Brien under Donough O'Brien's pledge for his fidelity. A 1604 Inquisition at Clarecastle, finds that Conor, son of Daniel O'Brien, late of “Castletown Macrossy” owned at the time of his death the upper room of the castle, the cellar, parts of the bawn, the orchard of the castle and some of the surrounding townlands. He rebelled against the Queen in 1597 and was killed at Killaloe in 1601. In 1605, a John King was granted Conor's share of the castle. The castle passed to the MacNamaras sometime afterwards and Teige, son of John MacNamara “of Castletown Muckerish” was found to have been the owner “of one half of the castle and town” of Castletown at the time of his death in 1634. In that year he conveyed the castle and lands to another Teige, son of Daniel MacNamara, who duly lost them after the 1641 rebellion. They were then disposed of to one Paul Strange 'a Transplanted Papist' with parts of the property going to John MacNamara and the Earl of Thomond. In 1659 and 1661 a Doctor Neylon is recorded as the tenant of the castle. It is not known when the building was finally vacated. Built on a plinth and with a clear base batter which is largely robbed, and constructed of uncoursed, undressed limestone with dressed quoins, although most features are broken and removed. It is two storeys high and has a square projecting tower with garderobes at the NW angle. The destroyed doorway (Wth 1.1m) with a bar-hole on the NE side, is towards the S end of the SE wall and leads to a lobby protected by a murder hole, from which a mural stairs rises in the SE wall. Of the ground floor chamber (int. dims. 7.6m NE-SW; 4.7m NW-SE) only bar-holes survive of its entrance doorway. There are embrasures with lights on every wall except the SE, that at SW being destroyed. At the base of the embrasure on the NW wall is a vaulted sondonge (int. dims. 2.1m NE-SW; 1.8m NW-SE; H 1.3m). A destroyed doorway at the N end of the NE wall led to a chamber (int. dims. 2.2m NW-SE; 1.65m NE-SW) with a NW-SE barrel vault with traces of wicker centering. It has three lights in lintelled embrasures and two cupboards. From the entrance lobby the stairs with three lights, rises to a landing in the SE wall where a lintelled doorway with draw-bar sockets, hanging eye and spud-stone gives access to the first floor under the vault. This floor was supported on corbels in the NW and SE walls with beam-slots in the NE and SW walls. Each wall has an embrasure with destroyed windows, that in the NE wall with access to a garderobe in the projecting tower at the N angle, that in the SE wall commanding the murder hole. The stairs rise in the NE wall but are roofed with a vaulted ceiling. There are unusual narrow grooves under the vault on E and W sides. The stairs lead to grass covered floor above the vault. (Frost 1893, 50; Weir 1986, 69; Ua Cróinón and Breen 1998). Compiled by: Michael Moore, Leo Morahan 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