BALLINOE CASTLE
Traditional Irish Name
Baile Nua – new town.
Associated Families
MacSheehy.
Oughtred.
Courtenay.
Location
Barony | Glenquin. |
Civil Parish | Clonelty. |
Townland | Ballinoe. |
OS Map Ref | Sheet 37. |
Protected Structure Record
Reg. No: 1699.
Ref. No: N37(14).
Description
Ballinoe/Ballynoe Castle was an important traditional stronghold of the MacSheehy family.
Ballinoe Castle (like Ballyegnybeg, Ballyguilleataggle and Ballyvoghan) has been cut down to a couple of floors.
It was described in 1840 as it looks at present: a fragment of a castle, with only about 20 feet of the building still standing.1
The remaining architectural features include a few original slit windows, and the top remaining floor is arched.
Condition
Much of the building is overgrown with vegetation. Its fabric has been much altered and it is gutted internally.2
(For an idea of how an ivy-free Ballinoe might look externally, see Image Gallery (below) for a side by side view with Ballyegnybeg, another almost identical truncated castle).
Access
The remains of the castle lie in a farmyard. Permission is required.
Historical Timeline
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1 Ordnance Survey Letters, Clonelty parish, 170 and Field Name Books, 17.
2 See C.J. Donnelly, ‘A typographical study of the tower houses of Limerick’ in JRSAI, vol. 129 (1999), 33.
3 See 1641 Depositions: Samuell Wishlade, 8/3/1643, 1641 Depositions, TCD, MS 829.
Notes
All historical information is compiled from archival material; primary sources (such as State Papers); secondary sources; plus authoritative digital sources (such as CELT). Any direct quote or a further reading suggestion is footnoted.
For queries, suggested amendments, or other relevant information, or if you would like to contribute an archival image of Ballinoe Castle (of which you own the copyright), please leave a comment at the bottom of the page, or email (below).
limerickcastlesdatabase@gmail.com
Image Gallery
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