Castle — Ballyvada

On the W side of a natural platform (H c. 1m) which is on the edge of a steep precipice with the River Suir 30m to the E. In the Civil Survey (1654-6) the castle is described as being 'an old Castle that wants repayre' and the proprietor in 1640 is 'John Cantwell of Mockarky Esqr Irish Papist' (Simington 1934, vol. 2, 10). This is a four-storey tower house (ext. dims. 12.85m N-S; 10.45m E-W) composed of limestone rubble, roughly coursed with well-cut quoins and a base-batter (NW angle almost 5m H; Wth 0.6m). There is a plinth foundation (H 0.12m) along the W side, with additional masonry (H 1.2m) providing support for steps up to the ground floor doorway at the N end of the W wall. The broken out doorway leads to a small square lobby defended by a murder-hole, with guardroom to N, main ground floor to the E and mural stairs which rises along the W wall, becoming a spiral stair at the SW angle. The ground floor is lit by two flat-headed loops in deep, window embrasures, in the N and S wall respectively. There is also a large wall cupboard at the N end of the E wall and another at the S end of the W wall. The first floor was entered from the mural stairs via a flat-headed doorway in the S end of the W wall. There are two large segmental-headed recesses in the N wall. At the N end of the E wall there is a large window embrasure which was completely broken out to accommodate a later doorway. At the S end of the E wall there is a flat-headed single-light window in a large embrasure. In the S wall there are two large window embrasures, both with blocked flat-headed single-lights windows. There is a central embrasure in the W wall containing a small loop and at the N end of the W wall there is a large recess providing access to the murder hole. The first floor was supported on a wooden floor, which rested on stone corbels. The second floor was entered from the mural stairs at the W end of the S wall through a slightly pointed doorway. This floor was lit by two windows, one in the N wall and the other in the E wall. At the E end of the N wall there is a large wall cupboard. At the N end of the W wall the flat arch of a joggle-jointed fireplace is visible, though the fireplace itself is blocked up and obscured by plaster. The second floor is carried on an offset on the E and W wall and is roofed by a barrel-vaulted roof. There are a number of mural chambers which are accessed off the mural stairs. There are two at roughly second-floor level, one runs along the S wall and dog-legs into the E wall and the other runs along the W wall and dog-legs into the N wall where there is a garderobe chute which exists directly below at first-floor level. The steps of the spiral stairs have been broken out and at some stage were replaced by a wooden spiral stairs, which is now largely collaspsed. The upper floors could not be accessed, however from the exterior it is evident that there is a third floor which was lit by a two-light ogee-headed window in the E wall and an ogee-headed single-light window in the N wall and that between the second and third floor there would appear to be a mural chamber running along the E wall. There is also a mural chamber at the E end of the N wall between second and third-floor level which appears to have a blocked flat-headed loop on the N face, c. 1.5m from the NE angle, and another small opening c. 3.5m further W. The mural chamber at parapet level appears to have two floors, one lit by a round-headed single-light window in the E wall and the upper floor which is above the parapet level of the main tower house is lit by a window in the S wall and another in the E wall whose head does not relate to the jambs. At parapet level there are the remains of a machicolation over the main entrance and one over the garderobe chute exit. There are also the remains of a bartizan with inverted pyramidal corbel supports at the NE angle and one with rounded corbels at the SW angle. A small building (ext. dims. 4.9m N-S; 3.45m E-W; W wall H 2.43m; wall T 0.6m), which is of 18th/19th century date, was built onto the tower house at the S end of the W wall. There is a much denuded wall or revettment running roughly NE-SW along the top of the precipice immediately NW of the tower house. It may be the remains of a bawn wall or may be related to the later 18th/19th activity associated with a 'splendid mansion' Suir Castle house which was built at short distance c. 8m SE of the tower house by Lord Baron Massy in the 18th century (Davis White 1892, 104) and now, along with its outbuildings, only survives as foundations and fragmentary ruins. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 6 September 2013