House — indeterminate date in Lixnaw

Across the River Brick are the remains of what is marked on the OS map as 'The Hermitage' but which is locally called 'the Castle'. This structure would appear to be contemporary with the Old Court (1010) giving it a 17th-18th century date, and it could possibly have served as a defensive outpost for the Old Court. The tower measures 16m x 9m externally. Beneath the first floor are four arched cellars. They are not connected to each other, but a passageway runs in a roughly N-S direction which is 14m long and 1m-1.6m wide. The first and last cellars are roughly the same size, 3m x 6.5m, and both have two narrow slit windows that splay inwards; they are now blocked up. The two other cellars measure 2.5m x 5.5m, and their narrow slit windows have also been blocked up. The passageway is lighted on the W side by the disfigured door to the SW, 2.3m wide x 2.6m high, and by three narrow slit windows splaying inwards along the passageway. The above description is derived from C. Toal, ‘North Kerry Archaeological Survey’. Dingle. Brandon in association with FAS Training and Employment Authority (1995), no. 1010. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 3 August 2013