O'Carrolls Castle, Ballyknockan, Co. Offaly
Tucked into a natural hollow in the uplands of County Offaly, the ruins of O'Carrolls Castle at Ballyknockan tell the story of a 17th-century fortified residence.
O'Carrolls Castle, Ballyknockan, Co. Offaly
While the tower house that once stood in the northeast corner has been reduced to rubble, the surviving bawn walls offer fascinating insights into defensive architecture of the period. The rectangular enclosure, measuring roughly 56 metres north to south and 61 metres east to west, retains its western and southern walls along with a portion of the northern wall; all built with walls 0.7 metres thick.
What makes this site particularly intriguing are the two circular angle towers that still stand at the southwest and northwest corners. These towers, with interior diameters of 2.85 metres and walls 0.8 metres thick, originally rose two storeys high and featured an unusual design where each level was accessed externally from within the bawn area. Both towers and the main walls show evidence of gun loops, highlighting the defensive nature of the complex. The main entrance, a large segmental arch centred in the southern wall, led to a three-metre-wide stone avenue that ran north to south, effectively dividing the bawn into two distinct areas: the eastern half housed the now-vanished tower house, whilst the western half contained the domestic quarters.
The ruins share remarkable similarities with Kilcolgan Castle in North Offaly, suggesting a regional pattern of fortified houses from this era. A small square structure bonded to the northern end of the western wall, measuring 4.6 metres square with walls 0.55 metres thick, appears to be contemporary with the main fortification and may have served as additional accommodation or storage. Later outhouses were subsequently added to the northern wall, and modern sheds have been built against the eastern side of the bawn, showing how the site has continued to evolve through the centuries.





