Castle — Killincoole

The following description is derived from both the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1986) and the 'Archaeological Survey of County Louth' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1991). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 17 July 2007 Founded on bedrock, with projecting angle-towers at the NE and SW and a slight batter rising to c. 1m above ground level on all but the E side. The SW tower contains the garderobes and the diagonally opposing one at the NE contains the stairwell. It is four storeys high and has a barrel vault over the ground-floor area. A relatively modern entrance and stairs have been inserted in the SW tower to give access to the first-floor level, but the original entrance was through a doorway in the E wall just to the S of the NE angle-tower. In recent times this doorway was blocked by a building which was attached to the E wall and a new entrance was made slightly further to the S. The tower house is constructed of rough coursed limestone blocks and greywacke. The projecting towers are almost round in plan and rise above the line of the tops of the main walls. The other angles also show clear evidence of having risen above the level of the wall tops but they had no turrets and were built merely to accommodate the wall-walk. On the S face of the SE angle at first-floor level there is a well-carved stone human head. In relatively recent times the building was adapted for farm use and was roofed with slates. However, it is no longer in use and is rapidly falling into decay. The barrel vault over the ground floor is on a N-S axis and is entered from the main doorway in the E wall. Some wicker centring is intact in the NW portion of the vault. The S end of the wall has been partly removed, reset c. 0.40m further back and rebuilt with brick. In its SW angle there is a blocked doorway which gave access to the area at the base of the SW tower and is now partly occupied by the modern steps leading to the first-floor area. When the steps were inserted the roof over the ground floor of the SW tower was broken through to accommodate the stairway. The window in the N wall was broken out but shows evidence of having been double-splayed. Modern doorways have been inserted into the E and W walls. There is a murder hole over the main entrance and another between the doorway to the original stairwell and the barrel-vaulted area. Original access to all the floor levels plus the wall-walk was gained from the stairwell in the NE angle tower. It is now blocked between the ground level and the first floor but is otherwise accessible. The first-floor level has a large fireplace in the E wall; openings in the N, S and W of recent origin were probably originally splayed opes. In the SW angle a doorway leads from the main chamber to a small room which contains a garderobe chute in a recess to the N of the door jamb. The recess measures 0.71m by 0.9m and the opening is 0.36m by 0.38m, thus allowing a wide area for seating around the chute. As stated above the modern stairs have broken through the roof of the ground floor level of the NE tower so that its first-floor level is also destroyed. The second-floor level also has a large fireplace in the E wall. The opes at this level have all been widened and are therefore not original. Access was gained to this level from the stairwell via a wide mural passage in the central portion of the N wall. There is a small chamber on the S side of the stairwell and E of the mural passage. It was presumably a small guardroom and has a loop on its E wall. In the SW angle tower there is a garderobe chamber with a single splayed loop in its W wall. The garderobe is recessed in the N wall of the chamber which has two single-splayed loops and a doorway at the E leading from the main floor area. The third floor has a mural passage from the stairwell leading to the main chamber from a small room to the S of the stairwell similar to the one on the second-floor level. There are opes in the E, W and S walls, all of which have been widened to vaying degrees in recent times. There is a garderobe chamber in the SW angle with beehive roof of large stone slabs. Access from the main chamber is now blocked and the floor which was the roof of the second-floor level is now destroyed. (Wright 1758, bk II, 5, pls V, VI; ITA Survey 1942) Human stone head situated on the face of the SE angle of the tower house at first-floor level. It is quite worn and is stained by the deposits from tree foliage. It has a flattened chin, slightly bulging eyes, a pointed nose and a bald head.