This medieval stronghold, which was surrounded by a defensive fosse, met its demise at the hands of the Cosby family, who weren’t content with merely destroying it. They recycled the ruins, constructing their own fortified house on the exact same spot, a common practice that saw many Irish castles transformed into more modern dwellings during the plantation period.

The Cosbys’ appetite for architectural cannibalism didn’t stop there. According to local historian Mooney, writing in 1955, Francis Cosby also demolished Stradbally Abbey and repurposed its stones to build himself a dwelling house. This suggests the family had a systematic approach to replacing the old Gaelic order with their own Protestant ascendancy structures. The fortified house they built on the castle site is believed to have stood where Abbey House is today, though no visible traces of the original O’Moore castle remain above ground.

The transformation of Stradbally from an O’Moore stronghold to a Cosby settlement reflects the broader changes that swept across County Laois during the 16th and 17th centuries. The O’Moores, once powerful Gaelic lords of the region, saw their castles and abbeys systematically dismantled; their very stones became the foundations of a new colonial order. Today, visitors to Stradbally won’t find any romantic ruins of the Castle of Palace, but the story of its destruction and rebirth as a planter’s house remains embedded in the village’s layout and in the historical memory of the place.