Loughlohery Keating Castle (in ruins) — Loughlohery

On a slight rise off the crest of an E-facing slope in gently undulating pastureland. The Civil Survey 1652-54 records the proprietor as Robert Mageon of Loghlochry Gent. and Irish Papist and that 'Upon the sd lands of Loghlochry Keatinge stands the walls of a burned Castle, a thatcht house, and some cabbins' (Simington 1931, vol. 1, 358). In the OS Letters the castle is called 'Loughloghra old Castle' as opposed to 'Loughlohery Keating Castle' on the OS 6-inch map (O'Flanagan 1930, vol. 2, 136-7). Du Noyer (1840 vol. 2, 45 (i) unpublished RSAI) depicts the tower house with an outbuilding on the E side and a small turret to the SE. The small square tower to the SE has four, high, steep-pitched gables, one with chimney stack. One single-light at second floor level. A small tower/castle is depicted in the distance. This four-storey tower house with attic (ext. dims. 11.8m N-S; 10m E-W) is built of limestone rubble, roughly coursed, with base batter (H 2.8m; Wth 0.3m) and well-cut quoins which have been robbed out up to second-floor level. It is lit by flat-headed single and two-light windows with hood-mouldings. The tower was defended by double shot-holes and a bartizan at the NE and SW angles. There is a lozenge-shaped opening just below parapet level on the E wall which may be a gun-loop. Some large gutter-stones also survive at parapet level. Each wall is surmounted by a gable, though the N and S gables are more larger, with chimney stacks surviving on all but the S gable. The tower house was entered through a doorway at the N end of the E wall, though only the S half survives with a yett-hole in the S jamb. This led to a small lobby which was defended by a murder-hole, with mural stairs to the S and a doorway opposite the entrance, now largely gone, giving access to the main ground-floor chamber. This chamber was lit by three lights, in the S, W and N walls, the opening in the S wall broken out with a later doorway inserted. The first floor was carried on wooden beams supported by three corbels on each of the E and W walls and corresponding put-logs in the N and S walls. It was accessed from the mural stairs in the E wall, lit by a window in the N wall and has a centrally placed fireplace in the E wall with remains of polished limestone surrounds. This chamber gave access to two mural chambers, one in the E and the other in the S wall, both vaulted. The main chamber has a barrel-vaulted roof. The second floor was accessed from the mural stairs which had turned to continue up the S wall. It was lit by windows in each wall and provided strong defence for the tower house with double shot-holes in the NE, SW and NW angles and a single shot-hole at the N end of the E wall. There is another angle loop with shot-holes in the SE angle which contains a spiral stairs which rises up to third-floor level. There is a large fireplace in the W wall. The third floor rested on offsets on the N, E and W walls and floor joists on the S wall. It was lit by single-light windows in the N and W walls and two-light windows in the E wall. It has two fireplaces, that in the S wall with crude limestone surrounds and probably a wooden lintel, as there are corbel supports on either side, while the fireplace in the N wall is of polished limestone with an overmantel. The presence of two fireplaces suggests that this floor may have partitioned into two chambers. The attic floor rested on corbels on the E and W walls, with corresponding beam-holes in the N and S walls, and was lit by a single-light window in the N gable. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011