Ballysheeda Castle (in Ruins) — Ballysheeda (donohill Par.)

Just off the summit of a hill in upland area on a N-facing slope, with commanding views in all directions. Described in the Civil Survey (1654-6) as 'small castle of ballysida wanting repaire three thatcht houses Thirty cabbins & one Water-Mill'. Philip O'Dwyer of Dundrum was listed as proprietor in 1640 (Simington 1934, vol.2, 83). In the I.T.A. Survey of 1943 the castle is described as a 15th-century keep of the O'Dwyer family who were chiefs of Kilnamanagh. In 1657 the castle still belonged to Philip O'Dwyer, Esq. of Dundrum and in the 1659 Census there were 66 persons over the age of fifteen, comprising 8 English and 58 Irish at and around Ballysheeda (Seymour 1917, 37-8). The Hearth Money Rolls for 1665-6 records the castle as being in the possession of Thomas Butler and who was charged for one hearth, while in the following year he was charged for three hearths, which suggests that he made alterations to the castle making it more habitable in this period (ibid.). This may date the windows at the hall level which appear to be insertions and may also offer a date for the cut stone fireplace at fourth-floor level. In 1689 the castle of Ballysheeda appears to have belonged to William and Purefoy Warwick (ibid.). In the OS letters, 1840, the main doorway is described as being 'much disfigured' (O'Flanagan 1930, vol. 1, 97). This impressive, well-preserved, circular tower house (ext. diam. 10.8m N-S; 11.55m E-W; wall T 2.8m), five storeys high with attic, is built from roughly coursed limestone rubble with high base-batter (H 3m) and survives to gable height. At foundation level there are two relieving arches visible on the N and NW faces, possibly a construction feature to enhance the strength of foundations of the tower. Good evidence for an external render on the N face of the tower survives at upper floor levels only. The windows are single-light ogee-headed, flanked by gun loops up to second-floor level only; simple flat-headed single-light windows with cut stone limestone surrounds; and, at fourth-floor level, large twin-light mullioned windows with hood-mouldings typical of the late 16th and early 17th centuries. These larger windows are directly underneath the openings of the machicolations which may suggest a later insertion. The style of the windows are of 17th-century date and are not usually found with ogee-headed windows which here are probably late 15th/16th-century in date. There is no evidence of glazing in any of the windows while the larger fourth-floor windows have evidence of bar slots for a grill. Four machicolations with double rows of holes, the lower row being gun loops while the upper row may be drain holes for their own small roofs, are visible at wall-walk level at N, E, S and W. The E machicolation protects the main doorway which consists of a pointed arch with limestone rebated jambstones, of which only the N side survives. A large rectangular chimney stack rises above the wall walk at NW. A garderobe chute outlet is visible at the base of the W wall. An unusual feature is the presence of a small square cap house which also rises above the wall-walk at SW. There are three doorways in the cap house, the W and E doorways giving access from the stairs onto the wall-walk while the NE doorway gives access to the attic over the fourth floor. There are simple flat-headed windows in the E and W gables, with a doorway S of centre in the E gable giving access to the wall-walk and machicolation which protected the main doorway. There is no evidence of a bawn wall. Internally, from the main doorway an off-centre lobby area protected by an overhead murder hole allows access to the main ground floor chamber and the mural stairs in the S wall. A mural guard chamber directly inside the main entrance to the N protects the entrance and lobby area and has two gun loops in the NE facing wall which allow flanking fire for the main entrance. The ground floor rectangular chamber (int. dims. 5.2m N-S; 5.95m E-W) had a wooden floor over, supported on floor beams carried on an offset in the thickness of the wall, the outline of which is still visible. Simple flat-headed windows set into large segmental-arched embrasures with wicker centring visible, are in the S, W and N walls. No gun loops are incorporated into windows at this level. A small wall niche is set into the SW angle of the chamber. The mural stairs in the SE wall gives access to all main chambers, attic and wall-walk. It is lit by simple slit opes and flat-headed windows, with a slop-stone underneath the sill of a window at first-floor level. The first-floor chamber is rectangular, vaulted, entered via a pointed limestone doorway in the SW wall, with single-light ogee-headed windows in the NW and NE walls, flanked by gun loops and set into large segmental arched embrasures. A doorway in the E wall gives access to a mural chamber containing the murder-hole access. Along the mural stairs after the first-floor entrance there is a doorway creating a lobby area from where the spiral stairs winds up to the wall-walk. Small gun loops are visible in the external wall of the mural stairs up to third-floor level, averaging 0.10m H x 0.06m Wth. A garderobe is accessed off the spiral stairs at mezzanine level between first and second floor levels in the W facing wall. It is entered through a flat-headed limestone doorway, with good evidence of wicker centring on the roof of the chamber which is lit by simple slit ope. The second floor, accessed from the spiral stairs through a two-centred limestone doorway, had a wooden floor over carried in the thickness of the wall. Three single-light ogee-headed windows, in the S, W,and N facing walls, are flanked by gun loops and set into large segmental arched embrasures. A mural chamber in the N wall is accessed from the E embrasure of the NW window. A doorway in centre of the E wall gives access to a mural chamber, carried on a wooden floor, with several gun loops in the E wall. The spiral stairs is destroyed from this level up to the wall walk, prohibiting access to the upper chambers. The third floor also had a wooden ceiling carried in the thickness of wall, and has a fireplace in the W wall with no cut stone visible in its construction. There is an ogee-headed window in the N wall, a mural chamber in the NE angle and a mural chamber in the E wall over the lobby area, accessed from the main chamber by a doorway in the E wall. The fourth floor was the main hall, the largest chamber, with a large cut stone fireplace in the W wall of which only a fragment of the mantelpiece survives. It is lit by three large cut-stone twin-light mullioned windows at SE, E and N, and appears to have had a wooden ceiling which was the floor of the attic which was entered via the cap house at wall-walk level. The attic space was totally confined within the roof space over the main hall and was lit by a window in the E gable and possibly dormer windows set into the roof. A doorway S of centre in the E gable accesses the wall-walk and the machicolation over the ground floor entrance. Gun loops appear to be absent above second-floor level. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011