Morett Castle (in ruins) — Morett

A Fitzgerald castle built c. 1580 (Hore 1866, 534-5). Rectangular tower house (dims. 15.5m E-W, 11.5m N-S; wall T 2.5m at W, 1.3m of N) built on rock outcrop and constructed with rubble limestone, roughly coursed. It is four storeys high with NE, SE and SW angles extant but with most of connecting walls levelled. Large central chimney stack and associated fireplaces in E gable. Bartizans on NE and SW angles. No evidence of murder-hole, garderobes or doorway (Fitzgerald 1904, 285-96; Comerford 1883, Vol. II, 144-54). Situated atop rock outcrop with good views in all directions. Late sixteenth century rectangular fortified house four storeys high with attic. The walls are externally rendered and built with roughly coursed limestone rubble with dressed quoin stones and a base batter. All floors were wooden and the floor joists rested on wall plates which were carried on corbels which are visible on the internal face of the W gable. There was a fireplace at each floor level in the E gable which had a tall chimney stack crowned by four diagonal chimney stacks with cut stone cornicing. The ground floor may have been divided into two rooms by a cross wall of which the grass covered foundations survive running across the centre of the ground floor from centre of N wall to centre of S wall. This wall would have created two rooms at ground floor and upper floor levels. No evidence of where original doorway was located. String coursing visible along all four walls of castle at wall walk level and around the gable at wall walk and higher up around chimney stack. Evidence of unglazed flat headed windows with iron grill holes and punch dressed limestone chamfered jambstones of late medieval date. Single light round headed window in centre of E gable at fourth floor level. At ground floor level in the centre of the E gable there is a large fireplace. In the NE angle at ground floor level there is a stone built wall oven heated from the central freplace. At second floor level in the NE angle there is access to a mural stairs in the E gable which gives access to a destroyed machicolation in the centre of the E gable. This stairs is lighted by an angle loop in the NE angle at second floor level. Underneath the string course at wall walk level on both side walls there are a series of drain holes underneath each one there was a large water spouts which take the water away from the wall walk. Only one water spout survives at SW angle. Evidence of gun loops in circular bartizans at NE and SW angles. Austin Coopers drawing of the castle in 1781 depicts the castle as a four storey high three bay castle with gable ended chimney stacks on both E and W gables, and possible gable fronted in the centre of the lateral S and N walls. The gables were surmounted by tall rectangular chimey stacks that supported four diamond shaped chimney flues on both gables. The N wall appears to have had large flat headed windows possibly twin lights with rectangular hood mouldings over the windows. At this time the N side wall of the castle and the W gable were upstanding, by 1903 both of these walls were no longer upstanding and the castle was in its current condition. In the 1870's much of the S wall of the castle collapsed and around 1893 a large section of the W and N walls collapsed. In the Elizabethan period the castle was attacked and burned, and Gerald Oge Fitzgerald and his wife were murdered there. Gerald had married the daughter of John Bowen of Ballyadams Castle. Their son 'Yellow Gerald Fitzgerald' escaped murder by being at the castle of Ballyadams when his parents were murdered. Fortified house stood in the centre of a large square shaped bawn (LA009-021009-) of which only the wall footings survives 19m to the N of the castle and 18m to the S of the castle. No visible remains of bawn wall to E or W of tower house. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Laois' (Dublin Stationery Office, 1995) compiled by P. David Sweetman, Olive Alcock and Bernie Moran. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 17 December 2007