Cantwells Castle (in ruins) — Sandfordscourt

In rolling grassland, now mainly reclaimed. Good views in all directions except to the S where the vista is blocked by the small hill. The tower house is situated at the SW end of a low mound (dims. 48m N-S; 41m E-W; H c. 1m) and at the W angle of the bawn (KK015-021002-). The bawn extends NE from the NE face of the N angle and a short length extends SE from the SE face of the S angle. According to Carrigan (1905, vol. 3, 274), 'The ballium, or court-yard wall, and other buildings connected with the castle, stood till the close of the 18th century, when they were taken down by M. Thomas Cahill, who then farmed the townland'. There are settlement earthworks (KK015-021003-) extending eastward from the castle. This castle is associated with the Cantwell family. Carrigan (ibid.) recounts how in 1649 this castle was garrisoned against the Parliamentarians but that, 'the officers being English, Welsh, and Scotch, sent some of their number to Cromwell, offering him possession of the castle', under terms which were accepted. The castle and lands were lost by the Cantwells following the Act of Settlement in 1652, as John Cantwell, the proprietor at the time, had played an active role in the 1641 Rising, being Provost Marshal of the Confederates (Hegarty 1974, 11-13). A four-storey tower house (ext. dims. 10.15m NE-SW; 8.6m NW-SE; wall T 1.42m) built of limestone rubble, roughly coursed with a base-batter (H 1.3m). The quoins, doors and windows have punch-dressed tooling. The tower house was entered via a pointed doorway at the E end of wall of the SE wall. The entrance was protected externally by a machicolation at parapet level. The doorway leads to a small lobby, with a murder-hole overhead, and gives access to a mural stair to the S and to the ground-floor chamber opposite. This chamber (dims. 6m x 4.85m) was lit by two loops, both splaying internally and externally, one at the W end of the NW wall, the other at the E end of the NE wall. There is an inserted fireplace in the NW wall. There are wall cupboards at every floor level. The first floor rested on a wooden floor, supported on corbels in the SE and NW walls. It was entered from the mural stair in the SE wall, the entrance being protected by a murder-hole. This floor is lit by a window in the NW wall and one in the NE wall. The chamber has a vaulted roof. The second floor is entered from the mural stair rising in the SW wall. There are three large broken out windows in the NE, SE and SW walls respectively, all with window seats. There is a gun-loop in the SW window embrasure providing protection for the second-floor entrance. There is a fireplace in the SE wall. Both lower murder-holes are assessed from second-floor level. There is a garderobe chamber along the NW wall at this level, with a latrine at the N end. The NW wall has partially collapsed above this level. The mural stair becomes a spiral stair in the W angle, giving access to the fourth floor. Two-light ogee-headed windows are evident, in the NE and SW walls, within large embrasures with window seats. There is a small inaccessible mural chamber at the N end of the NE wall, lit by a single-light window, which is probably a garderobe chamber, utilising the latrine chute at the N end of the NW wall. There is a fireplace in the SE wall. The spiral stair in the W angle continued up to parapet level, which is not accessible. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 1 March 2016