Indicated — Cashel

On the SE side of Main Street, Cashel, centrally placed within the walled town (TS061-025001-). This tower house is generally known as Quirke's castle but it is historically associated with Gaelic Kearney family who were one of the leading families in Cashel up to the Cromwellian confiscations. Thomas Kearney was Alderman of Cashel in 1640. Lord Inchiquin apparently used the castle as a base for his garrison during his seige of the Rock of Cashel in 1647 and Fr. John Kearney was hanged within the tower house in 1652. The tower house (int. dims. 5.15m x 4.85m; wall T over 1m) is currently converted into a hotel and is called Grant's Castle. A five-storey high tower house with two caphouses, running NW-SE along the NE and SW walls respectively, constructed of limestone rubble roughly coursed with well-cut quoinstones and a pronounced base-batter (H c. 2.5m). The battlements have stepped crenellations with a wall-walk along the NW and SE walls with a series of drainage spouts, three of which terminate in sculpted human heads with gaping mouths. The original entrance to the towerhouse was on the street front, in the NW wall, but the mid-section of this wall up to first-floor level has been removed and a large round-headed arch inserted with a wooden and glass panelled doorway and a pseudo portcullis above. The fenestration has been somewhat altered, a large round-headed window has been inserted in the NW wall at third-floor level. At least one original single-light ogee-headed window, the other windows are simple loops lighting the spiral stair in the N angle. Much of the interior has been altered to accomodate hotel fittings but features such as the spiral staircase, embrasures and wall-cupboards remain intact. At ground-floor level the internal face of the SE wall has been robbed out. The first floor (dims. 6.18m NE-SW; 3.85m NW-SE) was entered from the spiral-stair via a pointed doorway into a short lobby, lit by a loop, and through a flat-headed doorway into the chamber. Though altered the remains of three window embrasures are discernible in the NE, NW and SW walls. The greater part of the southern end of the SE wall has been knocked through and a modern concrete window embrasure inserted. Near the S angle the head of an opening remains in situ and there is a large wall cupboard near the E angle of this SE wall. The second floor has a pointed vaulted roof with good wicker-centring, it was a loft space rather than a chamber and was only lit by a small window in the NW wall. It rested on a wooden floor, with beam-holes for the wall-plate at either end of the NW wall and was accessed from the floor below via a wooden stairs or ladder. The third floor (dims. 5.95m NE-SW; 4.75m NW-SE), entered from the spiral-stair, was probably lit by a window in each wall, the remains of embrasures are visible internally on all but the SW wall and this wall appears to have a modified window visible externally. There is a large wall-cupboard at the S end of the SE wall. The fourth floor was entered from the spiral-stair via a short passage lit by a single loop. The floor level has been raised by c. 1.2m to accommodate the hotel water tank. There are no windows at this level and like the second floor it appears to be a storage space. There is a large round-headed arched recess in the NE wall and a corbel table in the SW wall, both structural supports for the caphouse above each of these walls. The NE caphouse (Wth 1.35m) is lit by an ogee-headed window in the NE wall and the SW caphouse (Wth 0.58m) is lit by two loops in the SW wall and has a circular gun-loop in the NW wall. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011