Glenacurragh Castle — Glenacurragh

This castle was situated on a low rise of ground with good extensive views of the surrounding countryside. Today there are no remains of this castle that was pulled down in the late 1960s to the rear of the country house known as ‘Glenacurragh Castle.’ The present country house was built onto the southern wall of the medieval tower house and was connected to the house by a short extension. The site of this castle was located in the range of outbuildings to the rear of the 19th century house. The Ordnance Survey twenty-five-inch map of 1908 indicates clearly the outline of the tower house which was attached to the north-east corner of the country house. This medieval castle was an O’Carroll tower house probably constructed in the 16th century. The Books of Survey and Distribution for Co. Offaly list ‘Lewis Carroll’ as the owner of the lands of ‘Glonocorrne’[Glenacurragh] and ‘Gragaluge’ [northern part of Knock townland] in 1641. After the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and the subsequent Irish Wars of 1641-53, these lands amounting to 215 acres of profitable land were confiscated and granted to John Holland in the second half of the 17th century. The 1655-57 Down Survey map of Ballybritt barony shows a small building at ‘Glonocorue’ which represents Glenacurragh Castle. In 1801, Sir Charles Coote (1801, 80) recorded that in this region, ‘There are several old castles, that at Glanacurragh [which] is inhabited by Mr. Palmer.’ An old black & white photo taken c.1954 shows the castle standing amongst the outhouses of the farmyard immediately to the north of the country house. The photograph of the east face of the castle shows that it was possibly a four storey high building with attic above which was entered through a dressed stone pointed doorway located off centre to the north in the east wall. The jambs of this doorway had an external rebate to accommodate a yett which protected the inner wooden door of the castle. This doorway was very similar to the doorway at Castlearmstrong. The staggered arrangement of two slit opes at the southern end of the east wall suggests there was a spiral stairs in the southeast angle of the castle. There was a square-headed cut stone window with chamfered jambstones directly above the main entrance into the castle. Directly above this window possibly at third floor level there was a 17th century twin-light square-headed mullioned window with hood-moulding and stepped terminals which are very similar to the windows at Ballycowan Castle. This window had been partially blocked up. There was a window in the centre of the A-shape gable of the attic of the castle. The rest of this wall was covered in an external lime render which covered any other features this wall may have possessed. Compiled and revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 28 August 2019