Toberdaly Castle (in ruins) — Toberdaly

In the SW corner of a raised formal walled garden (dims. c. 46m N-S x 35m E-W) belonging to the ruins of Toberdaly House constructed in the mid-18th century which stands 24m to the NE. Situated on top of high ground with commanding views over the surrounding countryside. Croghan Hill [769 ft. OD] clearly visible 4.1km to the W, the summit of Clonin Hill visible 1.8km to the N. Extensive views of bogland in the townland of Coole to the S. Toberdaly Castle (OF011-013----) with possible bawn was possibly built as a low squat-shaped tower originally by the O’Connor’s in the 14th or 15th century, with an adjoining bawn or curtain wall that was reused as the wall of the formal garden belonging to Toberdaly House, built by the Nesbitt family in the 18th century. During this period the land around the N and E side of the tower was raised to create a formal garden for Toberdaly House, when the medieval tower house became a corner tower on the SW angle of the formal walled garden. The ground floor doorway in the E wall was removed and inserted into the present location at second floor level in the 18th century in order to facilitate access to an octagonal-shaped gazebo constructed on top of the tower house. During this period the interior of the castle was converted into a dovecote with the insertion of stone nesting boxes into the inner face of the N wall at first and second floor levels. Toberdaly House was burnt down on the 15th of April 1923 during the Irish Civil War and only the S wall of this house survives standing today (McKenna 2017, 148). Present remains consist of a multi-period, three storey high tower-house (ext. dims. 9.3m by 7.4m; wall T 1.2)with a slight base batter and walls built of random rubble with dressed alternating quoin stones. The castle stands approximately 9.3m high from the top of the parapet wall to the outer ground surface on the S side of the castle. Sometime around the second half of the 16th century the castle walls were heightened with the insertion of a barrel vault and possibly the addition of an upper storey with diagonally opposite angle machicolations on the NE and SW corners of the wall-walk. During this rebuilding phase the floor levels were altered and a possible flat-headed fireplace was inserted into the north wall. The line of the original wooden ceiling over the ground floor cuts across the rear-arch of the ground floor window in the south wall showing that the floor levels of the castle have been altered. The stone vaulted ceiling over the entresol (intermediate floor between two main floors) chamber also cuts across the head of the window in the east wall of the castle confirming that this building was heightened when a stone vault was added to the castle in order to support the mural stairs leading up to the upper floor and wall walk of the castle. The stone vault over the entresol partially cuts across the head of the flat-headed doorway leading off the spiral stairs. Ground Floor: Entrance: Originally the castle was entered through a ground-floor doorway located in the centre of the E wall that is now blocked up. The pointed limestone punch-dressed doorway with externally rebated jambs measures 1.65m high by 0.9m wide. A yett-hole measuring 0.09m in diameter is visible in the S jamb-stone of the doorway with two pintle holes on the opposite side of the jambs which indicates that it was protected externally by an iron grill/grate or yett which sat into the external rebate of the door surround. The iron yett swung across from right to left and was supported by two iron hinges, the pintle holes of which are still visible in the N jamb-stones of the doorway. This iron yett when closed protected the inner wooden door of the castle. The yett was closed from the lobby area of the castle. The draw-chain of the yett was pulled through a yett hole from the mural passage leading into the spiral stairs at ground floor level. This yett hole is still visible in the inner face of the east wall of the mural passage off the lobby area leading into the spiral stairs now destroyed at ground floor level in the south-east angle. Ground floor lobby area & spiral stairs: The main doorway leads into a ruinous lobby area measuring c.1m by 1.2m from which a spiral-stairs measuring 1.8m in diameter was located in the SE angle. From this stairs all the upper floors were accessed. An interesting feature of this stairs is that it is contained within a square tower which projects into the main chambers of the tower giving the first floor and entresol and unusual L-shaped floor plan. This interesting plan suggests that the spiral stairs was inserted into an earlier castle, resulting in a first-floor plan that is rarely found on other castles in county Offaly. The spiral stairs is lit by a series of narrow slit-opes and is capped by a beehive corbelled roof at entresol level. The lobby entrance of the ground floor was protected by a mural guard room measuring c.1.3m x 1.1m located to the N of the lobby in the NE angle. This guard chamber was lit by a slit-ope in the N wall. The purpose of the guard room was to protect the entrance-lobby area. Ground floor main chamber: The main ground floor chamber measures internally 5.45m x 5.2m and was accessed off the lobby area. The ground floor had a wooden ceiling c. 2.2m high that was carried in beam holes measuring 0.3m wide by 0.37m high by 0.45m deep that are visible in the N wall. The ground floor is poorly lit with only the remains of one broken out window in the centre of the S wall. The rear arch of this window cuts across the floor of the ceiling of this chamber suggesting that the floor level was altered in the 16th century. There are the remains of wicker centring visible on the underside of this window embrasure. There are no visible remains of any other windows lighting this chamber. However the W wall of the castle appears to have been rebuilt or refaced and there may originally have been a window in the centre of this wall similar to the window in the centre of the S wall. The ivy cover on the external face of the W wall makes it impossible to identify any blocked up window. The raising of the land on the N and E sides of the castle prevents examination of the external face of these walls at ground floor level. In the centre of the N wall there is a flat-headed aumbry or wall-cupboard measuring 0.9m wide by 0.6m deep by 0.75m high which may be the remains of an original window that was partially blocked up and converted into a wall-niche. The possible remains of a rear arch belonging to a window may still be seen above the flat-headed wall niche. There is a second small niche measuring 0.4m wide by 0.6m deep by 0.6m high located in the NW angle. There is a small wall niche measuring 0.65m wide by 0.6m deep located off centre to the S in the E wall and a fourth niche measuring 1m wide by 0.4m deep located in the SE angle of the S wall. First Floor: The first-floor chamber measures 6.65m long by 5.4m wide by 2.2m high and is accessed through a pointed dressed limestone doorway off the spiral stairs in the SE angle. Directly inside this doorway in the S wall there are the remains of 2 semi-circular rear-arches belonging to two blocked-up windows. The shape of the rear-arches is very similar to the rear-arches of the windows at Castlearmstrong (OF007-037----). The segmental headed rear-arch of a window embrasure now blocked up is visible located off centre to the E in the N wall of this floor. To the west of this window in the centre of the wall there is a possible large flat-headed fireplace of 16th century appearance measuring 1.5m wide by 1.43m high and c.1m deep. The identification of this feature as a fireplace is uncertain as the opening has been infilled in the 18th century when it was converted into a dovecote with insertion of stone nesting boxes. No evidence of a chimney flue could be found on the wall-walk of t