Shallee Castle (in Ruins)

In 1574 Shallee was owned by Brian dubh O'Brien, a grandson of Conor na Srona O'Brien, King of Thomond, who died in 1496. Brian Dubh had to surrender his possessions after the battle of Rath in 1562, but received a pardon in 1568-9. Donough Ganach inherited and his son, Turlough, was hanged for treason and forfeited Shallee in 1591 when it was granted to a Thomond Morrice, but by 1603 Conor, the son of Donough Ganach was in possession. In 1606 Shallee was owned or rented by Francis Chamberlain of Ballygriffey. In 1641 Patrick O'Hogan was a tenant of Murrough O'Brien, Barron Inchiquin, but Inchiquin forfeited his lands in 1641 when Shallee was transferred to Barnabas O'Brien, sixth earl of Thomond. Simon Rotham was his tennant in 1659-64, and in 1693 it was the property of Thomas Hickman of Barntick. It was probably derelict since the mid-17th century, but it is noted as the property of O'Brien's of Thomond in 1706, 1709 and 1763. At the N end of a short N-S spur of rock outcrop, with higher ground all around, except NW-E. The S wall (L 8.8m), with a slight base-batter, and adjacent parts of the E (L 8.8m) and W walls of a four-storey structure survive. There is no surviving entrance, stairs, garderobe chutes or chimneys, so these features must have been in the missing walls. The ground floor (int. dims. 6.7m N-S; 4.95m E-W) has a N-S barrel vault with wicker centering, but the flat-arch embrasures have plank centering. The first and second floors had lintelled embrasures with simple lights in each wall, but rising over the second floor is a N-S barrel-vault which had chambers in the E and W walls, although there is no evidence that it was floored as a loft. The third floor has a twin-light ogee-headed light in the S wall with square hood moulding and a rounded rear arch in the S wall with the remnants of a similar window surviving on the E wall. The parapet does not survive, but there is evidence of a corner machilocation at the SE angle. The material for the tower house was quarried from the area immediately to the S, leaving a dry moat (Wth 9m; D 2.7m) SE-SW. The top of the rock outcrop is c. 2m wide around each side of the tower house and the base of a wall (L 4.5m; Wth 0.85m; int. H 0.5m) survives on the E side. Compiled by: Michael Moore See attached document with details from Risteárd Ua Cróinín and Martin Breen, The Castles and Tower-houses of Co. Clare (unpublished report). Uploaded courtesy of R. Ua Cróinín and M. Breen. Date of upload: 11 December 2014

Shallee Castle was held by Brian Dubh O'Brien, a member of the O'Brien dynasty of Thomond, in 1574. It is remembered as part of the remnants of the Gaelic lordships in Ireland and reflects the political fragmentation and English pressures faced by Irish chieftains in the 16th century.