CASTLES IN BUTTEVANT
There are six castles or towers within the
parish of Buttevant. Three are in Buttevant
town. Lombard's Castle. the Barry (or
Buttevant) castle, and the Desmond Tower.
There are also castles at Lisgriffin,
Templeconnell and Ballinguile. All these
castles were built after the Normans came,
say from 1200 A.D.; and that no castle was
built after Cromwell had demonstrated the
power of the cannon In reducing castles to
rubble in 1650. Only Buttevant castle has
been extensively repaired, in particular
about 1830. when Sir John Anderson had
bought it from the last Earl of Barrymore
and was living there.
1. Barry or Buttevant
Castle:
It was built by the Barrys around 1200.
Three baronies were granted to the Barry
following the Norman Invasion, those of
Killede, Olethan and Muscraighedunegan.
They were seized and held by Ralph
FitzStephen for a short time. But Raymond
Le Gros, Robert FitzStephen and Philip
Barry (who came to Ireland in 1185)
recovered the lands and gave them to the
rightful owner, Philip Barry. This grant
was confirmed to Philip's son, William, in
a grant from King John, dated 24 February,
1206.
The lands around Kilnamullack had been held
by the Dunegans prior to the Norman
invasion. They well may have
had an earthen rath or
lios at or near where the Barrys built
their castle. Almost certainly the mill and
weir had been in
existence for some
hundreds of years before the Normans came.
A site where the castle commanded the mill
had advantages. The swift-flowing
Awbeg river below the weir offered
defensive protection on one site; it also
assured the water supply of the castle. So,
there Is nothing surprising at the
selection of the site where the Barry
Castle was built and where Buttevant Castle
now
stands.
For a long time, the head of the Barry clan
lived at Buttevant, which became a
very Important town. In 1317
(11th. of Edward II),
the English Parliament voted £150 (say
£150,00 in todays money) to enclose the
town with a strong
wall. In 1461, Morrogh
O'Brien over-ran Munster, and damaged or
took the town and castle of Buttevant. In
1555 Lord Barry was created Viscount
Buttevant. The full story
of Barry-Buttevant castle cannot be given
here. Two small tales are of Interest. It
is said that a bugler or drummer of the
castle betrayed it to the besieger: when
the castle was taken, the bugler or drummer
was executed by the victor, who said "Thus
may all traitors perish." At night, the
head still rolls down the stairs, crying
"betrayed, betrayed", and a blood-stain on
the stairs cannot be washed away. In some
accounts, the betrayal and
execution are attributed to
an early Norman Barry attacking the Celtic
Donegan; It is impossible that there was a
pre- Norman stone castle at Buttevant. The
Incident might be based on the capture of
the Castle by Ireton or one of his
lieutenants In
1650/1651.
Another tale is that underground passages
connect the Barry castle with Ballybeg
Priory; this is most
unlikely.
as tunnelling through some
1.000 yards of hard limestone rock would be
a major undertaking. Another version of the
tale says that the underground passage
connects the castle with Buttevant Friary,
and possibly with the old convent located
between the castle and the Friary. This is
more probable, and there are tales of how
an early parish priest of Buttevant sealed
off a passage opening out towards the
castle from the Friary.
2. Lombard's
Castle:
This was more the substantial town house of
a family of merchants of Italian origin,
engaged in trade and banking. They
collected monies due to the Pope; they ran
the wool trade. The name Lombard is
well-known in the Buttevant area from the
earliest Norman times. It was seized during
the mid- 17th century troubles. On 28th.
Sept.. 1669, Castle Lombard, its two-acre
garden, its one-acre orchard and two acres
in Gortine-spunk, was granted by
Charles II to Col. John Gifford. It was
used as a school for a considerable time,
under a legacy from a wealthy widow, Anne
Muscham; this lasted to around
1818.
3. Desmond
Tower:
This is incorporated into the present Roman
Catholic parish church. It was built by the
Earl of Desmond. He retired
there. It has several names
in the records - Cullin (according to
Smith); "Caisland Caomhin" (Brash, 1852)
and "Killeen
Castle" (Field Book of
1839).
4. Ballinguile
Castle:
What remains now is the original castle,
but the ruins of buildings which succeeded
it built in or out of the older castle of
the Stapletons soon after the reign of King
John - Say in 1220, at the beginning of the
long reign of King Henry III. During the
1640-1650 Confederation of Kilkenny wars,
it was claimed by Sir Philip Percival (of
Churchtown). In 1644, the Irish, including
Staleton and Barrys, took the castle of
Ballinguile from Sir Percival. Under the
restored Stuarts the Freemans took it over
and probably erected the building whose
shattered pillars can be seen in a field to
the west of the Cork Dublin railroad. Blue
gates lead to the present ruin. The gaunt
pillars and walls are now slender and the
wide windows certainty suggest a building
no earlier than the late 17th century or
early 18th century. There is an enormous
cleft down one entire wall. There is a
lofty chimney shaft on the north wall and a
trace of what might have been a circular
stairs with garderobe. There is no present
indication of fortification. There is a
fosse between it and the railways as well
as a line of trees.
5. Lisgriffin
Castle:
It Is reasonably certain that the castle
was built by Garret Barry about 1605-1610.
There are the usual pardons to those
who held Lisgriffin Castle - to Richard
James Barry, 15 May. 1573; to John
FitzRichard Barrie of Lisgriffin, Katherine
Skollie. his wife. Philip Fitzjohn Barrie,
of same. A.D. 1600. etc. In 1580. the
Royalist army, marching from Limerick
to Dingle, encamped at Lisgriffin on 12
June, 1580. By deeds dated 6 June, 1619.
Redmond Fitzjohn Barry of Lisgriffin was
granted extensive lands which were formed
into the "Manor of Lisgriffin" by James I.
However, by 1657, Lisgriffin Castle had
become the property of the Grove family of
Cahirduggan. In 1911, Col. Grove-White had,
with permission, removed a fine limestone
mantlepiece from the top floor of
Lisgriffln Castle, and installed it in his
home. Only the west wall of the castle
remains. Jeremiah Healy, then of the
creamery of Lisgriffln told Grove-White
that the other walls fell on 2 March 1914
without showing any previous damage, and on
an evening which was absolutely calm. The
chimney on the north wall had blown down in
1900. There had been a spanking hole on the
front wall.
6. Templeconnell
Castle:
No records have been found regarding the
period when this castle was built. It is of
very good construction, and resembles
somewhat the style of Lisgriffln Castle.
So, it could have been rebuilt after 1603,
almost certainly by a Barry,
who
then had a major stronghold
at Liscarroll. However, a castle of some
sorts may have been there earlier, for a
Pardon of
Elizabeth to Edmund Maugner,
of Templeconnolly is dated 6 May, 1573. By
1622, the estate of Templeconila was in
the
possession of Edward
Stapleton, alias Mclgile. In 1639 It was
purchased by Sir Philip Percival; it became
a Perclval
stronghold during the
1640-1650 wars. On about 16 Sept., 1643, it
was seized from Sir Percival by Edward
Maugner, Stapleton and others, and declared
the possession of Thomas Barry of
Buttevant. By 1713, it was rented from the
Percivals
by Richard Freeman of
Ballinguile.
