Clohaskin Castle (in Ruins) — Clohaskin

Situated on a low natural rise in undulating countryside. The poorly preserved remains of a strong rectangular building (dims. 13.2m N-S; 18.5m E-W; wall T. 2.5m) with a NE corner tower built with roughly coursed limestone rubble and a prominent base-batter. Now standing two storeys high with only the N, S and E walls surviving. The lower courses of the W wall are present along with the E and W walls of the tower. The main entrance is located at the E end of the S wall at first-floor level and gives access to the first floor which was carried on wooden beams carried in the thickness of the wall. Directly inside the main entrance in the SE angle there is a doorway which leads to a mural stairs which gives access to either a destroyed second floor or a wall-walk. In the NE angle of the first-floor chamber there is a doorway which gives access to the destroyed NE angle tower. The first floor windows were set into deep segmental-arched embrasures and are poorly preserved. Access to the ground floor was via a wooden stairs. A large doorway giving access to the ground floor was inserted in the centre of the N wall - it is now partially destroyed. The ground floor was lit by simple single-light slit opes in segmental-arched embrasures with plank centring on the underside of the arches. The building has chamfered quoinstones best visible at the SE angle and has a deep channel at the N end of the E wall formed by the addition of the corner tower to the chamfered NE angle. A small rectangular single-storey building was built up against the SE angle of the castle inside which the OS Letters describe the remains of a partially destroyed stairs (O'Flanagan 1930, vol. 2, 79). This may be the original fore-building and stairs which gave access to the main entrance at first-floor level. To the W of the hall-keep are the poorly preserved remains of an earthen bank which has been reduced to a scarp (H 2m) in places with evidence of drystone wall facing on the external face. This bank possibly acts as a boundary line for the bailey/enclosure (TN008-01002-) area associated with the hall-keep. The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Tipperary. Vol. 1 - North Tipperary' compiled by Jean Farrelly and Caimin O'Brien (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 22 September 2008