An early castle was built here before 1315 and it was acquired by the Butler family, and James Butler was granted the title 1st Earl of Ormond.
Nothing of the original castle survived, and what we see today, of a castle built in the middle of the 15th century, is a bawn wall that surrounds a court with corner towers at the northeast and northwest. A modern manor house stands at the northwest (330°) side of the walled court.
The manor house was built at the end of the 16th century by Thomas Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormonde in the Tudor style, and was the first building of this kind in Ireland.
The manor house remained in possession of the Butler family until the middle of the 20th century, when the property was given over to the State.
We came here for the first time on June 5th, 2001, and the building was so nice to look at.
The castle has been recently renovated and the exterior now has a terrible look. Hopefully with the years the new colour will die out and a more ancient appearence will take place.
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