Castle - ringwork, Garrandee, Co. Tipperary South
In a small pasture field next to a two-storey farmhouse in Garrandee, County Tipperary South, the remains of what appears to be a medieval ringwork castle can still be traced in the landscape.
Castle - ringwork, Garrandee, Co. Tipperary South
This circular fortification survives as a raised semi-circular area, measuring approximately 38 metres from northeast to southwest and 20 metres from east to west. The most prominent feature is a substantial earthen bank that curves from south through west to northeast, standing 5.6 metres wide with an interior height of 0.85 metres and an impressive exterior drop of 3.2 metres.
The defensive bank shows signs of damage, with a 4-metre-wide breach on the north-northwest side that has reduced the bank’s height considerably at that point. Here, the earthwork measures 6.5 metres wide but rises only 0.35 metres on the inside and 2.3 metres on the outside. The exterior face of the bank remains notably steep, whilst the interior slopes down more gradually towards the enclosed central area, which is now overgrown with long grass. An ESB electricity pole has been inserted into the top of the bank at the west-northwest position, with its supporting stay anchored at the base.
No visible traces of the monument survive along the northeastern, eastern, or southern sections where the defensive circuit would have originally continued. The site’s strategic importance becomes clearer when considering that another possible ringwork, located approximately 235 metres to the southeast, is visible from this position, suggesting these fortifications may have formed part of a broader defensive network in medieval Tipperary.





