Castle Otway is a former 18th-century country house which stood on a hill on the outskirts of Templederry, near

Nenagh Nenagh ( ; , or simply 'the Fair') is the county town of County Tipperary in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Nenagh used to be a market town, and the site of the East Munster Ormond Fair. Nenagh was the county town of the former county of Nort ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. The house was built in stone up against the ruins of Cloghane Castle in two storeys with a 7-bay frontage, of which the middle three were pedimented. In the 19th century a tower house was attached at the rear based on the ruins of the castle keep. The house was burnt down in 1922 during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

, probably by anti-Treaty Republicans. It now stands as a derelict ruin with the gardens and estate land used for farming.

History

The castle and surrounding land were granted to John Otway in 1685. His descendants included

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Sir Robert Otway, 1st

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Sir Loftus William Otway and the author

Caesar Otway Caesar Otway (1780–1842) was an Irish writer and clergyman who wanted to study and improve the condition of the poor. Life Caesar Otway was born at Castle Otway near Nenagh, County Tipperary, Ireland. His parents were Cooke and Elizabeth Otwa ...

. Henry Otway (1768–1815) came to own the castle. He married Sarah Cave of

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, who became Baroness Braye in her own right. After Henry's death both the Baroness and their son

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

adopted the surname Otway-Cave and the property passed to Robert. He died young in 1844 with no children and the house was inherited by a cousin,

Vice-Admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of vic ...

Robert Jocelyn Otway. On the latter's death in 1884 it passed to his Galway-born son-in-law William Clifford Bermingham Ruthven, who adopted the surname Otway-Ruthven. The castle at one time housed the Otway Harp, an ornate late 16th-century instrument which is now the property of

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

References

{{coord, 52.77926, -8.08151, type:landmark_region:IE, display=title Castles in County Tipperary