Site of Mountgarret Castle, Seskin North, Co. Kilkenny
Just below the crest of the west side of the Nore river valley, amongst rolling grassland that's mostly been reclaimed over the centuries, lies the site of Mountgarret Castle in Seskin North, County Kilkenny.
Site of Mountgarret Castle, Seskin North, Co. Kilkenny
Though the castle itself is no longer visible at ground level, its location offers commanding views: north and south along the valley, east across to the opposite bank, and west into a neighbouring stream valley. The castle appears on the first Ordnance Survey map from 1839 as a rectangular building measuring approximately 14 metres northeast to southwest and 7 to 8 metres northwest to southeast.
Local memory of the castle has endured even as its physical presence has faded. In 1839, when the Ordnance Survey Letters were compiled, residents could still point out the castle site in what they called the Seskin Mountgarret Townland, describing it as being surrounded by a partially filled defensive trench. They referred to it as Castle Mountgarret, and tradition links it to the Butler Mountgarret family, one of the prominent Anglo-Norman families who held considerable power in medieval Kilkenny. The Butlers were influential landowners who built numerous fortifications throughout the region during their centuries of dominance.
Today, careful observation reveals that the castle likely stood on a regular platform measuring up to 50 metres east to west and 42 metres north to south. The site retains subtle defensive features including slight embankments on the north and south sides, a steep embankment to the west, and a terraced scarp to the east. Surrounding earthworks in the field, catalogued separately in archaeological records, may represent additional structures or defences associated with the castle complex, suggesting this was once a substantial fortified site controlling this stretch of the Nore valley.