Built sometime in the 15th or 16th century, this fortified residence represents the type of defensive home favoured by wealthy landowners during a particularly turbulent period in Irish history. The tower house follows the typical design of its era: a rectangular stone structure rising several storeys, with thick walls that could withstand attack whilst providing comfortable, if compact, living quarters for the lord and his family.

What makes Kilmurry particularly interesting is its state of preservation and the details that survive from its working life. The tower retains many of its original features, including narrow defensive windows on the lower levels, larger mullioned windows higher up where residents felt safer from attack, and the remnants of a spiral staircase built into the thickness of the walls. Murder holes above the entrance and the remains of bartizans, small overhanging turrets at the corners, speak to the very real defensive concerns of its builders. Inside, you can still trace the layout of the different floors; the ground level likely served as storage, whilst the upper floors contained the hall and private chambers.

The tower house stands in what was once a strategic location, controlling routes through this part of Kilkenny and overseeing productive farmland. Like many such structures across Ireland, it eventually fell out of use as political stability increased and Georgian country houses became the preferred residences of the landed gentry. Today, Kilmurry tower house offers visitors a chance to step inside the world of medieval Ireland, where comfort and security were carefully balanced within these ingenious vertical strongholds that dot the Irish countryside.