Castle, Tonymore, Co. Cavan
Standing in the countryside of County Cavan, the remains of Tonymore Castle offer a fascinating glimpse into medieval Irish tower house architecture.
Castle, Tonymore, Co. Cavan
This three-storey limestone structure, built with roughly coursed blocks, rises from a distinctive sloped base that extends about three metres high. Though time has taken its toll, with the western wall largely collapsed, the eastern and southern walls remain remarkably intact, allowing visitors to trace the building’s original defensive design and domestic layout.
The castle’s eastern wall preserves the main entrance, marked by remnants of a stone arch and topped with a well-preserved arrow loop; a strategic defensive feature that allowed defenders to fire upon unwelcome visitors. Just beyond the entrance, a short hallway reveals one of the castle’s more sinister features: a murder hole overhead, through which defenders could attack anyone who breached the outer door. The ground floor opens into a main chamber, with a small rectangular room to the north and a stairwell leading upward to the south. The southern wall showcases the building’s defensive priorities, with two arrow loops positioned one above the other to light the staircase, alongside a narrow opening with a wide internal embrasure at ground level.
The first floor reveals more of the castle’s residential character, accessed via a pointed doorway from the staircase. Here, the western room contains large recesses and beam slots along its southern wall, indicating where wooden floors once divided the space. Throughout the structure, architectural details like dressed stone doorways, built-in wall cupboards, and the remains of what was once a large window on the first floor’s southern wall paint a picture of a building that balanced military necessity with domestic comfort; a typical feature of Irish tower houses that served as both fortified residences and symbols of local authority.