Site of Castle, Mocklerstown, Co. Tipperary South
On a gentle rise overlooking the rolling pastures of County Tipperary South, the site of Mocklerstown Castle offers little visible evidence of its former grandeur.
Site of Castle, Mocklerstown, Co. Tipperary South
The land slopes away gradually to the north, east and south, whilst farm buildings now occupy the level ground to the west. From this elevated position, extensive views stretch across the countryside in every direction, giving a sense of why this location was chosen for a defensive structure centuries ago.
Historical records paint a clearer picture of what once stood here. The Civil Survey of 1652;54 reveals that the estate belonged to Jeffry Mocler of Mocklerstown, an Irish Catholic gentleman, who in 1640 possessed ‘a castle & Bawne tenantable’. Whilst the First Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1840 still marked the ‘Site of Castle’, today only fragments remain to hint at its existence. About 60 metres to the west, a stretch of bawn wall runs roughly north to south, marking the former defensive perimeter, whilst the ruins of a church lie approximately 90 metres to the southwest.
The most intriguing remnant of the castle has found an unusual home; built into a gate pier some 20 metres northwest of where the castle once stood. This elliptical;headed window frame, carved from roughly dressed limestone, measures 41cm wide and 26cm high, with an opening just 17cm across. The chamfered edges and soffit decorated with fine punch tooling speak to the craftsmanship of the original structure. This solitary architectural fragment, rescued and repurposed, serves as a tangible link to Mocklerstown’s vanished stronghold, offering visitors a small window, quite literally, into the area’s medieval past.





