We knew that this castle isn't accessible, allegedly for safety and insurance issues, but we were happy enough to see it from a distance. The building is privately owned and part of a farmhouse.
It was built around 1450 by Sir Rowland Plunkett, Chief Justice of the King's Bench. It's a four-storey square tower house with four square turrets at each corner which rise above the roof level. The northeast turret is occupied by the staircase to the four storeys.
This castle is the only one in Ireland still retaining its original trussed oak wood roof, and this has happened because the castle has always been inhabited by the descendants of Sir Plunkett until 1870. The roof served as a model for the restorations of the roofs at Bunratty Castle and Rothe House.
It's another of the locations for the movie "Braveheart" (1995), by Mel Gibson, where this castle would be the residence of Robert the Bruce and his father in Edinburgh.
It seems that the plane routes to Dublin Airport have changed since last year, because we used to fly over St. Dolough's church in the past years, and this year we saw this castle from the plane windows. Several planes were flying over the castle during our short visit.
The coordinates for this page have been taken at the corrugated metal gate that blocks the access to the farmhouse.
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