Bawn, Graigue, Co. Tipperary North
On the northeastern edge of a flat-topped limestone outcrop in the pastureland of Graigue, County Tipperary North, stand the remains of what was once a formidable fortified house and bawn.
Bawn, Graigue, Co. Tipperary North
This L-shaped structure, dating from centuries past, cleverly incorporated defensive walls into its domestic architecture. The house formed the north and east sides of the complex, whilst the bawn walls completed the rectangular enclosure, measuring approximately 28 metres north to south and 23 metres east to west. Built from roughly coursed limestone rubble, these walls once stood as a testament to the need for both comfort and security in rural Ireland.
Though time has not been kind to the building, enough remains to piece together its original layout. The house itself stretched about 18 metres along both its north-south and east-west sections, with walls nearly a metre thick. The southern gable, though only partially intact, reveals sophisticated features including a mural passage at first-floor level that led to a garderobe chute tucked into the southeast corner; a practical solution for sanitation that was common in fortified houses of the period. The foundations and collapsed masonry clearly outline where the rest of the structure once stood, giving visitors a sense of the building’s substantial footprint.
The bawn’s southern wall, rising to about 6 metres where it still stands, contains a blocked-up entrance that was originally 1.6 metres wide. A hammer-dressed corbel projects from the western end of this wall’s external face, likely once paired with another on the eastern side of the entrance, though that section has since collapsed. Whilst only a small portion of the western wall remains upright, the outline of the entire bawn can still be traced through the fallen stonework scattered across the site, offering a glimpse into how this fortified homestead once dominated the local landscape.





