Clonshire Castle (in ruins) — Clonshire More

Situated on low rise of ground 45m E of the Clonshire (Cluain Siabhra) River, Clonshire watermill (LI020-132----) depicted standing close to castle on the E bank of the Clonshire River on the 1658 Down Survey map of Connello Barony (Hib. Reg.). On this map the castle and mill are shown standing on lands belonging to the Bishop of Limerick. The townland directly opposite the castle on the W side of the Clonshire River is annotated 'Graig bishop town' on the 1658 Down Survey map of Connello Barony (ibid.). The precise location of Clonshire medieval watermill has not been identified, it was located at the junction between the townland boundary of Croagh/Graigue and the Clonshire River in the area where Smithfield Mill is depicted standing on the 1840 ed. OSi 6-inch map. It is possible that Smithfield Mill is built on or close to the location of the medieval watermill shown on the 1658 Down Survey map of Connello Barony (Hib. Reg.). Smithfield Mill stands on the W bank of the Clonshire River 300m SW of Clonshire Castle. According to O'Donovan the name is derived from Cluain siar, the "western meadow" but the earliest recorded form of the name Cluonsiebria hints at a different origin (MacCaffrey 1907, 26, 28). The land seems to have belonged to the church throughout the Middle Ages and it was probably the bishops of Limerick who were responsible for the development of the settlement there (ibid.; Westropp 1906-7, 219). The earliest evidence for the presence of a borough occurs in a plea roll of 1252 which mentions five burgages at "Clonchere" (Westropp 1906-7, 219). The Ordnance Survey Letters described Clonshire Castle as measuring ‘twenty four feet [7.3m] by fifteen and a half feet [4.7m]; had three stories, of which the one next above the ground floor was arched. The walls are forty feet [12m] high and four had a half feet [1.37m] thick. It has a square tower at the north end in which ascend the stairs. This has five stories and its walls are five feet [1.52m] thick. This Castle was a firm building and stands on low ground’ (OSL Clonshire Parish). Clonshire Castle was classified by Donnelly (1999, 28, 37) as a Type 2 Tower House that is tower houses with turrets or side towers, which he described as ‘a tall Irish Gothic tower containing a spiral staircase was added to the north-west side of the castle's earlier main block, itself perhaps a hall house’. Multi-period castle with three building phases dating from 13th/14th century, the late 15th/16th century and the post-1700 period was described in the Urban Survey of Limerick as following; 'This consists of a four storeyed rectangular keep [approx. ext. dims. 9.2m NW-SE x 6.5m NE-SW; wall T 1.3m) with a five floored stair turret [approx. ext. dims. 3m NW-SE x 4m NE-SW] to the west and a three floored addition to the east. There was also a three-storeyed structure in the south-west angle between the stair turret and the keep of which only doors from the turret and the keep and the footings remain. The keep and eastern section are built of roughly coursed rubble limestone while the stair turret is built of dressed limestone masonry. The earliest part of the complex is the lower two floors of the keep [approx. int. dims. 6.8m NW-SE x 4m NE-SW) which was raised when the stair turret was added. Dressed quoins above first floor level in the keep are similar to the masonry in the turret. The west turret contains a finely carved spiral stairs lit from the south, west and north by flat arched, tooled and chamfered splayed loops; pointed chamfered doorways open to the various floors in the keep. The stairs are missing from the third floor but originally continued to roof level; the upper section forming a mural stairs in the west wall leading into a narrow round vaulted chamber with wicker centering in the north wall. The room has windows in each wall; that on the west wall is ogee-headed with hollow spandrels and a rectangular hood mould while that on the north is also ogee-headed. Pointed doors open onto the wall walk over the keep on the east side. The walls above the windows are broken as are the walls at the top of the keep. The keep has a pointed barrel-vault over the ground floor but the remaining floors are missing. The ground floor was lit from the south by a splayed loop (largely damaged), the east and north walls are mostly collapsed and there is a pointed opening to the stair turret in the west wall. There is also a spiral stairs in the south west angle of the room which originally led to the first floor but this is blocked with collapsed masonry. The first floor is now overgrown with trees. A round arched doorway led to the eastern addition, the north wall has two large round arched openings, probably windows; the west wall had a doorway to the south-west structure and there was a round arched window, a chimney and a wall cupboard in the south wall. The second floor was supported on corbels in the north and south walls. The east wall of this floor had a flat arched doorway leading to the east section, the south splay of which has a double splayed recess opening to the keep and to the east and holds a stone basin. The suggestion by the owner that there was a chapel in the castle would seem to be strengthened by the occurrence of this feature. There is a small wall cupboard to the south of the doorway. The south wall has twin-light ogee-headed window with hollow spandrels and window seats and there may have been similar windows in the north wall but they are now blocked and the jambs are missing. There is a fireplace in the south wall and a door opening to the south west structure. The third floor was supported on timbers set into putlog holes and the room was lit by small deeply splayed rectangular slits in the north, south and east walls. There may have been a fireplace in the south wall. Only the north and east walls of the eastern building survive: the south wall is represented by low footings and a section of masonry jutting out of the keep wall at second floor level. The ground floor was barrel vaulted and there appears to have been an opening in the north wall. The first floor appears to have been lit from the north by two openings; that on the east is round arched and splayed. The floor above was supported on tapering corbels and was lit from the north by a splayed opening and from the east by a flat lintelled cusped ogee-headed single-light window with hollow spandrels. The walls are broken above this level' (Bradley et. al. 1989, 104-7). Westropp recorded the following details about Clonshire; '1201 Cluonsiebra held by the Church of Limerick (B.B.L., p. 14). Reg. de S. Jacobo granted a mark off Clonshire to said cathedral (Ib., I, xi.). 1252 Suit of Adam f. Rob. Rufi Capell and T. Oregan, or Orachan, as to five burgages in Clonchere (Plea R,, m. 5d). 1336 The manor of Cluaincheur held by Bishop de Rupefort (Rental). 1586 Cloneshere encastellan (Peyton, 197). 1608 Leased by the Bishop to W. Clarke (Vis. Reg., 1615). 1641 Jas. Crowe held it (Dep., 268). 1655 Clonshirebegg and Bohirbradagh, with two orchards, held by Captain W. Piggott in right of his wife (C.S., 52). 1659 Clonshiremore held by Captain T[homas]. Walcott with a mill and Loughill (Rev. Exch. Orders, p. 51). The late Mr. George Hewson noted that there were two enlargements of the original tower' (Westropp 1906-7, 219). Clonshire Castle was described by Salter (2004, 78) as following; ‘The vault in this tower measuring 9m by 7m blocks the original stair and may have been inserted when a wing containing a new entrance and spiral stair with a hole between the two was added in the 16th century. This part has a caphouse higher than the main block. Later on another, lower, three storey wing was added at the other end. The castle was held by Jason Crowe in 1641, and by Captain Piggott in 1655 in right of his wife’. See attached floor plans of Clonshire Castle taken from the Urban Survey of Limerick Compiled by: