Castle (in ruins) — Dunnaman

Catherine, daughter of the Earl of Desmond died in 1506, the Annals wrote that; 'Catherine, daughter of the Earl of Desmond, i.e. Thomas, the son of James, Lady of Hy-Carbury, a charitable and truly hospitable woman, died. It was by her that Beann-dubh and Dun-na-m-beann were erected' (O'Donovan 1856, 1289). O'Donovan identified this reference as relating to Dunmanway Castle, Co. Cork rather than Dunnaman Castle as suggested by Lady Dunraven (1865, 198). Westropp (1906-7, 167) recorded the following historical details about Dunnaman; '1297 Geff. f. Ric. held Villa Yursteyn (Justiciary R. Cal., p. 98). 1298 Drastenagh, held by J. Maunsell (Plea R.). 1418 Villa Trostany (Tax.Proc.), Rustainy or Dunnemeaunn (Torn Roll White MS.), named from the Thursteyn family (see under Croom, 1323); Lady Dunraven asserts that it is the C. of Dunnambeann, in Cairbre, named as built in 1506 (A.F.M.), where O'Donovan, with more probability, identifies this with Dunmanway, in Carbury (Mem. Adare, p. 198). 1571 Pardon to W. Lacye, of Thurstanstown, Co. Lim. (Fi. 1694). 1587 Ballyrustan, or Downemeane and Uregare, granted to G. Thornton (Carew i.,p. 449 ; Fi. 5052); he died 1605. A later G. Thornton held it, 1655 (C.S., xxiv., p. 42; D.S.A., 49; B.D., p. 73). 1666 Confirmed to E. Ormsby.' In 1840 the castle was described as 'the ruins of a square Castle of considerable height and extent. It is about seventy feet [21.3m] in height and near its south angle there is a chimney standing about sixteen feet [4.87m] above the square' (OSL, 195-6). The castle was described in 1865 as following; ‘The Castle of Dunnaman consists of a massive oblong tower, surrounded by a wall now nearly destroyed. The tower is 46 ft. [14m] in length by 33 ft. [10m] in width, and is only 31 ft. [9.45m] in height to the present summit of the wall, which clearly was never much higher; but there may have been apartments in the roof, as can be seen in the much more lofty tower of Annadown. The peculiarities of the building, among which may be reckoned the immense thickness of the walls in proportion to the size of the tower, are well seen in the two accompanying ground-plans. The walls are 8 ft. [2.4m] in diameter, or about double the thickness of those which are generally to be found in Irish mediaeval castles, such as Adare, Askeaton, and others. The entrance door leads into a narrow passage, in the roof of which is a square hole from 2 to 3 ft. [0.6-0.9m] in diameter communicating with the room above. This is popularly called the murdering hole, and was evidently used for pouring or flinging down missiles on the heads of assailants. There are two round holes in the door; one in the moulding of the jamb, and another at the top of the arch, which would serve, cither for shooting through, or as a spy-hole. The jambs are ornamented with punched work, the pattern on one side being in squares like a chess-board. To the right of the passage is a small room, 8 ft. [2.4m] long by 5 ft. 6 in. [1.67m] wide, which was probably used as a guard-room: on the left is a spiral staircase. The principal chamber on the ground-floor is 32 ft. [9.75m] long, by 17 ft. [5.2m] wide; lighted merely by three loopholes very widely splayed, and contains no fireplace. It is covered by a vault, which, up to about one third of its height from the springing, is constructed of wrought stones laid horizontally, corbelling out one over the other, and of which the soffits are cut to the form of the arch. The vault above these wrought stones is composed of rubble thrown in from above on to the centre, which was afterwards removed. There are corbels in the walls for supporting the beams of a floor, and additional loop-holes above this level, so that there were two stories beneath the vault. Over the entrance passage and guard-room, and on a level with the floor just described, is a small room 14 ft. [4.25m] by 8 ft. 6 in. [2.6m], entered from the staircase in a peculiar way, which cannot well be shewn on either of the ground plans. Above the door opening to this room, the staircase leads to the principal apartment of the Castle. It is of the same size as the vaulted room underneath, and contains a large fireplace, (the only one in the entire building), and is lighted by three narrow windows. From this room a passage communicates, in the thickness of the wall, with a garderobe. Near the fireplace, a short and narrow passage leads to a small room of the same dimensions as, and immediately over the one already described. This room is lighted by a window 1 ft. [0.3m] in width, the largest in the Castle, the splay or inner arch of which is formed of finely cut stone, similar to the splay arches in the Prior's house of the Franciscan Priory, Adare. No traces of the construction of the roof remain; but there is a square hole on the summit of the western wall, in the centre of its breadth, which communicates with the garderobe shaft below, and was apparently constructed for the purpose of flushing it from above. Among the windows are examples of round, square, and ogee heads; the dripstones over those in the two small rooms are very singular, and characteristic of Irish buildings of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The woodcuts in the following page exhibit these peculiar mouldings and ornaments. Inserted in the wall near one of these windows is an example of that class of sculptured stones [LI030-12001-], so strange in their character, representing the female figure in the most repulsive way. In the woodcut of the eastern front of the tower (vide next page), the position of the figure just noticed, and the two windows are shewn. Those on the other sides are mere loops’ (Dunraven 1865, 198-201). Westropp (1906-7, 167) described the castle as a 'low peel tower, probably later than 1500. It is 46 feet [14m] by 33 feet [10m], and 31 feet [9.45m] high ; the walls 8 feet [2.4m] thick, with the usual guard-room, porch, " murder-hole," and stairs. Figure of a sheelanagig [LI030-012001-]'. See attached drawings of east face of castle and floor plans taken from Dunraven 1865 Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 31 December 2018