Drominagh Castle — Drominagh Demesne

Drominagh (Drom Aidhneach / ridge of one learned in law) Castle located on the low-lying northern shore of a small bay on Lough Derg's E shore. Gleeson (1915, 447-8) recorded the local tradition that Drominagh Castle was first built in the 14th century by O'Madden of Galway. In the Annals of the Four Masters it is recorded that Drominagh was taken in 1598 by Redmond Burke to use as a base for raiding Clanricard (Cairns 1987, 22; AFM, vol. 6, 2079). Tower House type castle belonging to the O'Kennedy clan depicted on the 1654-56 Down Survey map of the parish of Terryglass (NLI, MS 721). Drominagh Castle and bawn (TN006-006002-) with abandoned orchard was described in the 1654-56 Civil Survey of Tipperary as an 'old ruined castle and bawne, the walls onely standing a decayed orchard & twenty cottages' (Simington 1934, vol. 2, 311). In 1640 Donnogh Kenedy of Lackeene [TN004-022001-] is listed as proprietor in fee by descent from his Ancestors of the two ploughlands of Drominagh which consisted of 400 Irish acres (640sa) of which 200 acres (320sa) were arable, 100 acres (160sa) of pasture 80 acres (128sa) of wood and 20 acres of red bog all which had an annual value of £20 per annum (ibid.). In 1840 John O'Donovan recorded the following details about Drominagh; 'In the Townland of Druminagh (Druim Aidhneach) otherwise otherwise Castle Beggs [Biggs], are the ruins of a square Castle which was taken by O'Neill's forces in the year 1598 and delivered up to the great rebel, Redmond Burke, that it might serve him as a stronghold out of which to wage war with Clanrickard' (O'Flanagan 1930, 27). In 1598 the Annals recorded the following details about an attack on Drominagh Castle; 'In the first month of the autumn of this year O'Neill sent letters to Leinster, requesting Redmond Burke, Owny O'More, and Captain Tyrrell, to intrust the guarding of Leinster to some of their allies in the war, and to proceed themselves to make conquests, and to bring some of the adverse territories over to their cause, by solicitation or force ; and he particularly requested them to go into Munster. After agreeing upon terms of peace with these, they turned their faces towards the two Ormonds; and from them they sought neither peace nor friendship, but proceeded to plunder them at once, on account of their enmity towards the Earl of Ormond. They took five of the castles of Ormond, one of which, Druim-Aidhneach, on the margin of the Shannon, Redmond Burke kept to himself, for waging and maintaining war on Clanrickard out of it' (AFM Vol. 6, 2078-9). According to O'Donovan, the castle; 'has lately received the modern name of Castle Biggs from the present proprietor. According to the tradition in the country this castle was erected by O'Madden in despite of the O'Kennedys' (ibid.). Drominagh Castle described in 1943 as follows; ‘Five storeys high, each floor is approached by a separate stairs, some straight through thickness of wall and some circular. Was entered through a door in south over which was the usual “murder” hole, and also through a second and perhaps principal door in east. This latter was flanked on either side by pilasters and over which the top storey stretched. A narrow apartment ran between pillasters in floor of which, for entire length was an opening two feet [0.6m] wide, through which all kinds of missiles could be hurled at those about to approach door underneath. This on top floor. Ground, second and top storey vaulted. Windows were well cut in limestone and had neatly carved spandrils. Numerous ambries throughout and in one apartment deep stone seats may be seen. Base of castle which is sloped is about 40 x 30 feet [12m x 10m]. About 30 feet [10m] high. Tradition assigns its erection in 13th century to O’Madden of Galway, but later it passed to local chieftain, the O’Kennedy’s, who held it intermittently till the Cromwellian plantations, when it was granted to a follower named Biggs, who retained possession until the place was bought in 1866 by Mr James Esmonde’ (ITA Survey). Castle described by Maurice Craig in 1976 as follows; 'A tower-house with tall, narrow, arch-headed recess in one face, rather as at Listowel [KE010-059----]. there are long, low, stone-arched, above ground tunnels in garden [bawn], of unknown purpose but paralleled at Dollymount and Mount Venus in S. Co. Dublin' (Craig 1972, 56). Castle described by Salter (2004, 132) as follows; 'The SE corner containing the spiral stairs of a tower measuring about 10m square 1.9m thick fell down in 1979. Now buried under rubble are an entrance in the south wall with a portcullis groove and a second entrance, ancient if not original, between the projections on the east side, where there was once a machicolation above. The basement, now full of rubble, was divided into two vaulted cellars. The second storey was also vaulted and has a damaged fireplace with a flue exiting halfway up the wall. A straight stair leads to the SW corner of the third storey, which has a two-light window facing west, a recess in the NW corner, and a stair leading up over a small room in the NE corner turret. Ranges extend north and south from the tower and to the west extends a bawn with remains of a gatehouse with a vaulted passageway on the north side'. Present remains consist of a partially collapsed rectangular four-storey (recorded standing 5 storeys high in 1943 survey) high building (ext. dims. 11.85m x 10.6m; wall T 1.1m) with a tower projecting E only from the NE and SE corners. The second projecting tower on the SE angle is now covered in collapsed rubble making it impossible to identify the tower. The S half of the E wall of the tower and the E end of the S wall collapsed in 1979 and today a pile of rubble makes it impossible to examine the ground floor or base of the E wall or SE angle of the castle. However, according to Maurice Craig who surveyed the castle in 1972 prior to the collapse of the tower house, the building had a ‘tall, narrow arch-headed central recess’ which would have been formed by the two projecting angle towers which he compared to Listowel Castle. The floor plan is similar to the ground plan of nearby Redwood Castle (TN001-001001-). The ITA Survey of 1943 described this recess as ‘two pillasters over which the upper storey stretched’. The walls of the tower are built with intermittently coursed limestone rubble, alternating long and short dressed quoins with a high base batter (H 1.65m) visible. The original doorway into the castle was at first floor level in the collapsed section of the E between the two projecting towers which was defended at wall walk level by a machicolation which ran between the two towers. The 1943 ITA survey recorded the presence of this E doorway which was identified as the’principal door’, along with a second ground floor doorway in the S wall which was defended by a murder hole. The ground floor which is longer accessible was covered with a stone vaulted ceiling, with a similar semi-circular shaped stone vault with traces of wicker centring now visible over the first floor. According to Salter (2004, 132) the ground floor of the castle was divided into two vaulted chambers which may suggest an early date for this castle. According to the ITA Survey the castle had three stone vaulted ceilings located over the ‘ground, second and top storey’. The first floor was accessed off a stairs contained within the NE angle. A possible flat-headed doorway was inserted into the centre of the W wall at first floor which is visible today as a flat-headed arch constructed with wedge-shaped voussoirs of post 1700 appearance. A flat-headed aumbry or wall cupboard is located in NW angle of first floor. The remains of a twin-light ogee-headed window with trefoil-leafed spandrels is visible in centre of the E wall with hood-moulding above that has been partially blocked up and converted into a single light window, probably in the post-1700 period. A la