Castle — Kilbree East

Situated on a bluff overlooking the W-E River Blackwater at a point where the stream, c. 90m to the W, turns N. It is listed as a mansion in a late 17th-century description of Waterford (Walton 1987, 26), and described by O'Donovan c. 1840 as the 'gable of a house with a chimney' (O'Flanagan 1929, 62), which can be seen in photographs (O'c 1895, 120 pl.). John Bagge arrived in Ireland c. 1620, and his grandson, William Bagge is associated with Kilbree from c. 1700 (O'Connell-Redmond 1918, 65-6). A house was built here by the Bagge family who also erected the crenellated walls and pointed gateway to a garden, probably in the 19th century. The original house, of which nothing remains, may have been 17th century in date. O'C. Redmond, G. (1895) Notes on the history, antiquities, archaeological remains and legends connected with the western end of the county Waterford, part II. WAJ 1, 119-32, 147-61. O'Connell-Redmond, G. (1918) The castles of north-east Cork and near its borders. JCHAS 24, 1-6, 62-6, 93-103, 145-51. O'Flanagan, M. (Compiler) (1929) Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the county of Waterford collected during the progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1841. Typescript. Bray. Walton, J. (1987) Two descriptions of County Waterford in the 1680s. Decies No. 35, 25-33. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Waterford' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1999). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Revised by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 21 March 2011