Castle Barracks — Englishtown,limerick City

National monument No. 288. The Anglo-Normans first established a presence in Limerick in 1171 when Donal O’Brien, King of Limerick and Thomond, paid homage to King Henry II at Cashel, and afterwards King Henry II sent ‘Keepers’ to Cork and Limerick (Furnivall 1896, 60). In 1175, Donal O'Brien, King of Limerick, rebelled against the King of England and Raymond le Gros assembled an army of 120 men-at-arms, 300 horse solider and 400 archers on foot and marched on the 1st of October to attack Limerick (Scott and Martin 1978, 149-53). In 1217, King Henry III granted Reginald de Breouse [Braose], 'custody of the castle and city of Limerick, to hold till the K.'s 14th year' (Cal. doc. Ire. No. 787, 118). In this year the King notified the 'knights, free tenants, and others on the lands of William de Breouse in Ireland, that Reginald de Breouse having come to his fealty, the K. restores to him all the lands which belonged to his father ere Meyler Fitz Henry, then justiciary of Ireland, divided them between Munster and Desmond' (Cal. doc. Ire. No. 786, 118). In 1223 King Henry III granted Richard de Burgh the seneschalship of Munster along with the castle of Limerick with the condition that he serve as the king's bailiff under the justiciary (Cal. doc. Ire. No. 1114, 170). The royal castle of Limerick known as King John’s (1199-1216) Castle was described in the Urban Survey (Bradley et. al. 1989, 288-99) as following: ‘Work on this castle appears to have commenced in the first decade of the thirteenth century possibly on the site of the "fort" (LI005-017124-) referred to in the Cogadh Gaedhel re Gaillibh (Todd 1867, 81). There was a substantial building here by 1211-12 because the Irish pipe roll of John states that £733 16s. 11d. was needed for repairs to the castle (Davies and Quinn 1941, 69; Sweetman 1980, 1327). Substantial repair works were also carried out in 1327 (Tresham 1828, 35: no. 34) but by 1585 the castle was again in need of considerable repair (Sweetman 1980, 208). Further repairs were carried out in 1608, 1618 and 1624 (ibid.). The castle is situated on the west perimeter of English Town overlooking the Shannon and Thomond Bridge. It is based on a rough quardangle, measuring 75m north-south by 65m east-west externally. It originally had round towers at each angle and a large twin-towered gatehouse in the centre of the north wall. The buildings have been considerably modified, most of the towers and curtain wall have been lowered and topped with modern parapets. The south-east angle tower is completely missing and was replaced in the early seventeenth century by a rectangular bastion which itself survives only in a fragmentary state. The east curtain wall is entirely missing, while the west curtain wall is not visible above ground internally although much of it is visible externally where ground level is lower. The masonry of all phases consists of coursed limestone rubble. Much of the original masonry displays alternating courses of large blocks and small pinnings while the doors and windows have jambs of red and yellow sandstone. Gatehouse The castle is entered through a gatehouse of twin D-shaped towers (overall width 21.5m externally)with, originally, a barrel-vaulted chamber 7.3m wide (externally) behind the entrance passage. The towers are of three floors. The west tower is 17.6m high externally of which the upper 2.1m is modern parapet. The east tower is 15.5m high of which the upper 1.2m is modern parapet. Both have basal batters, 1.5m and 2m high respectively. On the ground floor is an entrance passage c.2.5m wide leading to a door with a pointed arch and dressed sandstone jambs, which is c.5m high internally but externally is approached by a modern stairs rising from street level, 2-3m below. The door was protected by a portcullis and a murder hole, concealed behind a round arch some 12m high between the towers externally. Each of the flanking towers has a round chamber, whose interiors are plastered, making it difficult to distinguish between original and later masonry. The west chamber is entered from the castle yard through an unsplayed doorway with segmental rear arch on the south; three tall splayed loops with dressed sandstone jambs and segmental rear arches, which seem to be of brick, face west, north and east respectively. The east chamber is entered from the castle yard through a tall pointed doorway whose chamfered sandstone jambs seem to be modern; the pointed rear arch is of brick. Two splayed loops, with sandstone jambs and segmental rear arches face west and north. All that remains of the chamber behind the entrance passage are the north returns of the east and west walls, c.6.5m high with the line of a barrel vault c.6m high in between,in the south wall of the gatehouse. It would appear that the only approach to first floor level was from the wall-walk of the curtain wall to the west, unless it was, as it is now, by means of an internal wooden stairs within the towers. The two tower chambers are circular, with modern floors supported on ledges in the walls. The west chamber is entered from the curtain wall through a modern round headed door on the west via a short passage with pointed vault in which there are traces of plank centering. This passage overhung the curtain wall to the north. Two splayed loops, with sandstone jambs and pointed rear arches with plank centering face north-west and north-east. On the south east is another modern round-headed door and a passage with pointed vault leading to a balcony occupying the space above the entrance. A portcullis chamber presumably originally occupied this space and perhaps first floor level of the structure behind the entrance. At the E end of the balcony is another passsage with pointed vault entering the east chamber through a pointed door (probably modern) on the south-east. The chamber is lit by a splayed loop with sandstone jambs and segmental rear arch facing north-west and a twin-light rectangular window with chamfered limestone jambs, in a large flat lintelled embrasure with modern window seats facing north-east. On the south-east a round headed doorway leads to a spiral stairs giving access to the upper floors, located at the junction of the east side of the tower with the north curtain wall. The second floor chambers are circular with modern roofs, flat in the east chamber, domed in the west chamber. This is approached through the mural stairs in the east from which the east chamber is entered through a modern rectangular doorway on the south-east. The chamber is lit by a splayed loop with sandstone jambs and a modern pointed rear arch facing north-west, while on the south-west is a modern rectangular doorway leading to a balcony connecting the east and west towers, which has on its south side a modern open arcade of three round-headed arches. The west chamber is entered from the balcony through a modern rectangular door on the south-east. It is lit by a modern twin-light rectangular window with chamfered limestone jambs and segmental rear arch facing south (the wall on the south is refaced, if not rebuilt, externally), a modern broad segmental arched window splaying externally and internally with limestone jambs and segmental rear arch facing west and a splayed loop with sandstone jambs and a broad modern segmental arched window with limestone jambs, both set within the same large embrasure with segmental rear arch facing NNW. The spiral stairs in the east tower rises to roof level, where it terminates in a modern turret c.2.5m high. Both towers are topped by modern parapets above string courses; that on the east tower is low (c.lm high) and broad, while that on the west tower is taller (c.2.1m high) and has four crenels. Over the entrance is a passage connecting the towers. NE Tower A D-shaped tower, at present of one floor, with wall-walk above but originally of at least two floors. It is 13.4m in maximum external width, and c.13m high o