What is recorded here

Rathcool Castle reduced a medieval tower house to a single two-storey wall, yet that wall still stands joined to the present house on the Clashawley river. A thatched house may have been built against its north face, which is why the castle wall was not torn away like the rest. Even the chimney has given back a fragment of an older window, as if the castle were returning one small bright piece at a time.

On flat ground on the E bank of the Clashawley river with Rathcool motte (TS070-008---) located c. 25m to the S and Rathcool church (TS070-009----) and graveyard (TS070-009001-) 350m to the S. According to the Civil Survey (1654-56), the 'lands of Rathcoole, Farrenmabin, Cuarraghscartin Bellavady & Garryduffe...hath on it a Castle a Thatcht house, an old Oarchard & a Garden with sev[er]all small Cottages & the Rivolett Glassalin run[n]ing through it', with 'James Lord Barron of Dunboyne Irish Papist' the proprietor in 1640 (Simington 1931, vol. 1, 191). The 2nd (1903-04) ed. 6-inch OS map indicates that Rathcoole house (TS070-007002-) is on the site of Rathcoole Castle. This is indeed the case as one wall of a medieval castle, probably a tower house, still survives 2.2m from the present S end of the two-storey house where it joins onto a later three-storey house. The wall, two-storeys high (Wth 1.7m) has an external base-batter (H 2m; Wth 0.3m) facing N. The rest of the castle appears to have been levelled. It is possible that the thatched house, mentioned in the Civil Survey, was built onto the exterior of the N wall of the castle and thus this wall was retained. The present two-storey house, running roughly N-S, is possibly that 17th house. During recent renovations within the house the central portion of an ogee two-light cut limestone window head, probably of 16th-century date, was recovered from the stonework of the chimney of the two-storey house. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 4 December 2012

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