Castle — Rathbeagh

Immediately W of the medieval church (KK009-048001-) on the E side of a graveyard (KK009-048003-), on the brow of a gentle E-facing slope. There are fine views from NNW-E-SE. According to Carrigan (1905, vol. 2, 323-5) the parish church, 'dedicated to St. Catherine, Virgin and Martyr, (Nov. 25th), was thrown down about 1700, and a Protestant church erected, at the same time, on its foundations'. The residential tower or 'ancient presbytery' as Carrigan (ibid.) refers to it, was attached to the W end of the medieval church and it was retained when the church was largely taken down. A late 17th/18th-century undivided church was built onto the E wall of the residential tower. The tower is constructed of roughly coursed limestone rubble (wall T 1.5m), with well-cut quoins at the NW and SW angles. Most of the W wall has collapsed and the tower only survives up to first-floor level. The residential tower was accessed from the church via a doorway at ground-floor level at the S end of the E wall of the tower. The entrance was defended by a murder-hole in the thickness of the wall above. There is a commodious wall-cupboard (H 1.95m; D 1.1m, Wth 1.3m) in the E wall, accessed via a flat-headed opening (H 1.2m; Wth 0.67m) c. 0.9m above floor level. A spiral staircase (Wth 0.84m) rises in the SE angle to first-floor level and is lit by two loops. The ground floor consists of two vaulted chambers, connected by a pointed doorway (H 1.85m, Wth 0.9m) in the dividing wall (T 1.4m). The S chamber (int. dims. 3.8m E-W; 2.5m N-S) is lit by a flat-headed single-light window in S wall and has a pointed vault with remains of wicker-centring. Beneath the vault there was a loft, lit by a loop in the S wall. Two massive corbels project out from the W end of the N and S walls of the chamber. The N chamber (int. dims. 4.4m E-W; 2.6m N-S) is in poor condition, its pointed vault having collapsed in places. It is featureless apart from a series of joist-holes in the E wall suggesting that there was a loft just beneath the vault. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 6 February 2018