Tower — Castle Eve

On a spur of high ground at the E end of a low ridge, N of the Kings River. The site commands good views of the countryside to W, NW and S. Carrigan (1905, vol. 3, 330) identified this as the location of the early 14th-century castle of the D’Erleys, mentioned in the Red Book of Ossory c. 1300 and 1320 respectively as, ‘Curia de Erleyestoun’ and the ‘Castrum Erleye’. In 1367 John D’Erley joined the army of Edward, the Black Prince, the eldest son of Edward III in Spain where he was taken prisoner (Walsh 1958, 43). The ransom for his release was so costly that the family were forced to sell the Manor of Earleston (ibid.). Thus, towards the end of the 14th century, the Sweetmans succeeded the D’Erleys in both their property of Earlstown, and the title of Baron of Erley (Carrigan 1905, vol. 3, 330). The Register of Kells Priory mentions that in 1478, John Sweetman was chief lord of all the Barony of Erley (ibid.). Carrigan is confident that this is the same John Sweetman who, in the Pat. Rolls, is mentioned as, ‘son and heir of Nicholas Sweetman of Castellyse [i.e. Castellyfe, or Castle Eve] in the Co. Kilkenny, gent.’, who received a royal pardon for treasons etc. in 1482 (ibid.). In 1543, James Sweetman was Sheriff of Co. Kilkenny and in 1549, ‘James Sweteman, of Castelliff’ receives a pardon (ibid. 331). He was succeeded by William Sweetman, who was the largest freeholder in the Barony of Kells c. 1560 and was the Sheriff of Co. Kilkenny in 1564 (ibid.). He was succeeded by John Sweetman, probably his son, and it is John’s coat of arms [KK027-024004-], with the date 1580, which had been on display, ‘Fixed into the side of one of the windows, in the more ancient part of the ruins’, until 1886 (ibid. 329). He died in 1605 and was succeed by his son William, who became of age in January 1615-16 (ibid. 331). William fought in the Irish Confederate Wars (1641-52) which resulted in his lands being forfeit under Cromwell and his transplantation to Connaught in 1654 (ibid. 332). There is a local tradition that Castle Eve castle was battered by Cromwell’s troops and that all the defenders, save one, were killed (Walsh 1958, 45). Seemingly large quantities of human bones were unearthed during attempts to cultivate a field adjoining the castle (ibid.). Following the confiscation, the manor was divided, the largest portion going to Captain Henry Baker, ‘in satisfaction of £479 13s. 4d. for his service in England promiscuously with the arrears of his service in Ireland in the town and lands of Castleiff and Newtown, etc.’ (Walsh 1958, 44). He was elected M.P. for Callan in the post-Reformation Parliament of 1661 and died the following year (ibid.). His inheritance was divided between his children, resulting in the further fragmentation of the original manor (ibid.). William Sweetman’s will, dated from ‘Castle Ife’ in 1672, suggests that he was able to returned to Castle Eve following the Restoration in 1660, and probably after the death of Henry Baker in 1662 (Carrigan 1905, vol. 3, 332). Sweetman’s only child, a daughter, succeeded him and through her marriage to Hugh Conway, it passed into the Conway family (ibid. 333). The Conway-Sweetmans, ‘held on in the neighbourhood of their old Castles till about 1845, when the last of them emigrated’ (ibid.). The Down Survey (1655-6) barony map of Shillelogher, County Kilkenny shows a large stylised house, with pitched roof and central chimney, in the SE portion of the townland, which is likely to be a depiction of the fortified house at Castle Eve (Hibernia Regnum, courtesy of Trinity College Dublin) The multi-period castle complex is defined by a bawn with external moat (KK027-024002-), with a fortified house in the SW angle and a substantial mural tower (KK027-024003-) on the NW angle. The E portion of the bawn does not survive. The fortified house consisted of a three-storey rectangular building (dims. 20m N-S x 7m E-W), constructed of roughly coursed limestone rubble, heavily ivy-clad along its W face when visited in 1994. The N portion the house was remodelled for use in the 19th century. Carrigan (ibid. 329) describes it as, ‘the more modern or west portion of the buildings has Elizabethan windows, was never stone-vaulted, and has been lowered and converted into a farmer’s dwelling house and out-offices; the remainder is a crumbling ruin’. Two corbels project externally at first-floor level from the N wall of the house, suggesting there was another structure at this end, possibly a gatehouse in the bawn which would correspond with the location of a stone bridge over the moat. At the S end of the W wall, at first-floor level, there are large, rectangular cut-stone windows with glazing-bar holes. A slightly misaligned photograph, taken c. 1900 by Rev. William Carrigan (Carrigan 1905, vol. 3, 331), shows the external W face with three blocked-up windows with hood-mouldings at first-floor level. Internally there is a fine cut limestone fireplace at the S end of the W wall at first-floor level, part of the lintel is missing. This missing portion, which is now in Rothe House, Kilkenny, was carved with the initials W.S. and I.W., which refer to William Sweetman and his wife, Joan Walsh, accompanied by the date 1628 (ibid. 330-31). According to Salter (2004, 64), ‘As a result of demolition in the 1990s only stumps remain of the end walls of a house along the west side, part of which was occupied until the 1950s. There was a second tower at the south end of the house’. It is possible that rather than being a new-build in the 17th century, this was an older building which was remodelled in 1628. Reference: Walsh, F.R. 1958 Castle Eve. Old Kilkenny Review 10, 42-6 See attached: KK027-024001-_01 Photograph from Carrigan 1905, vol. 3, 331 KK027-024001-_02 N gable with projecting corbels KK027-024001-_03 Extract from Down Survey (1655-6) barony map of Shillelogher, County Kilkenny (Hibernia Regnum, courtesy of Trinity College Dublin) Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 28 March 2023