Donadea Castle — Donadea Demesne

On a low, E-facing rise in the Coillte-owned Donadea Forest Park; a Birmingham manor in the 14th century and subsequently Aylmer land which the family held 15th century - 20th century (Killanin and Duignan 1967, 372). A possible Early Christian church site (KD009-014002-), the ruins of a post-medieval church (KD009-014001-), and a 17th century effigial tomb (KD009-014003-) stand in a graveyard (KD009-014004-) c. 100m to the N. This 15th century structure was subsequently altered to form the rear, W-portion of later buildings on the site: it was incorporated into a 17th century fortified house (KD009-015002-), (the erection of which is commemorated by an armorial plaque (KD009-015003-)) which was destroyed in 1641, subsequently rebuilt, extended in the 18th century and further remodelled in the 19th century (Aylmer 1930, 382; Bence-Jones 1978, 104; SMR file). The rectangular four-storied tower house (ext. dims. L 13.5m E-W; Wth 10.2m N-S: av. wall T 1.7m) is built of rubble masonry with dressed quoins, and has a very tall, narrow base-batter (H 3.8m; Wth 0.3m) only visible on the S wall; red brick facing having replaced the destroyed batter on the other walls. A series of small, secondary chambers rise above the lobby at the E end, large portions of the W walls of which were later removed to let the chambers into the main rooms to the W. The original punch-dressed, pointed-arched, limestone doorway with chamfered jambs in the E wall is blocked, and entry is through a similar doorway (possibly robbed from a guardroom to N of the original entrance) inserted at the E end of the N wall. This leads S (?through a former guardroom) to the lobby which has a murder-hole in the vaulted ceiling inside the original doorway. A later doorway leads W from the lobby into the northern one of a pair of narrow, heavily plastered, parallel, barrel-vaulted chambers (orientated E-W; Wth 2.46m; H 2.9m) inserted into the ground-floor possibly as 19th century cellarage. The vaults spring from a central wall (Wth 1.05m) above which portion of the original wicker-centred vault covering the full ground-floor chamber is visible (and which was accessed from the lobby through a now blocked doorway). There is no internal access between the later vaults (the S vault is entered through a later doorway in the S wall) and each was lit by a now blocked loop in the W wall. From the lobby a pointed-arched doorway gives to a short, straight stairs leading S to a spiral stairs (int. diam 2.2m) accommodated in a slightly projecting SE angle tower. First-floor level is inaccessible but was entered from the stairs through a pointed-arched doorway which was blocked when a red-brick and ashlar doorway was inserted into the E wall in one of the last building phases. The internal wall faces are lined with red brick which, together with cast iron columns, supported a full balcony rising into second-floor level. The stairs was lit by two now blocked loops between first and second-floor levels. A small fireplace and tall round-arched embrasure in the N wall, and windows in the S and W walls are later insertions. Battlements and wall-walks survive, but are inaccessible: those on the W-half of the building look original, while those on the E-half are built of plastered brick and stone. In an auction of its contents in 1936, the rooms and areas were listed in a sale catalogue and comprised; entrance hall, lounge hall, back hall, back landing, top landing and corridor, drawing room, morning room, dining room, kitchen, housekeeper's pantry, staff rooms, study, library, boudoir, 11 bedrooms, chapel corridor, chapel and chapel gallery. (Aylmer 1999, 41-55) Compiled by: Gearóid Conroy Date of upload: 10 June 2011