Coolhill Castle is a

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

(donjon) and

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

located in

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...

, Ireland.

Location

Coolhill Castle is located northeast of

The Rower Rower or The Rower () is a small village in County Kilkenny, Ireland. The Rower is on the R705 regional road, roughly 30 km from both Waterford and Kilkenny. It is within the parish of the same name, which is about five miles (8 km) i ...

, on a cliff overlooking the

Barrow Barrow may refer to: Places England * Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria ** Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, local authority encompassing the wider area ** Barrow and Furness (UK Parliament constituency) * Barrow, Cheshire * Barrow, Gloucestershire * Barro ...

History

Coolhill Castle was built c. the 13th century. Henry de Rupe (de Roache, Roche) held lands at Coolhill in 1318. Art Óg mac Murchadha Caomhánach held the castle briefly during one of his campaigns. In the 1600s, about 30 de Rupe retainers were massacred at Rosbercon by English soldiers under De La Poer. The castle passed to the Mountgarret family in 1621 and was confiscated by the Roundheads in 1652.

Building

The castle consists of two towers: one, a circular

, and the other, a square demesne tower located to the east. The keep has a small southerly projection. The north doorway is protected by a

machicolation A machicolation (french: mâchicoulis) is a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones or other material, such as boiling water, hot sand, quicklime or boiling cooking oil, could be dropped on attackers at t ...

and there is another to the east. A

murder-hole A murder hole or meurtrière is a hole in the ceiling of a gateway or passageway in a fortification through which the defenders could shoot, throw or pour harmful substances or objects such as rocks, arrows, scalding water, hot sand, quicklime, ...

guards the double entrance. A mural helical stairway leads to the upper floors. The ground floor room has large alcoves. It has a vaulted ceiling with some

wicker Wicker is the oldest furniture making method known to history, dating as far back as 5,000 years ago. It was first documented in ancient Egypt using pliable plant material, but in modern times it is made from any pliable, easily woven material. ...

-marks. There are three storeys above the vault. There is a fireplace on the second floor. The third floor contains a fireplace, garderobe and separate stairs to the roof. There are single-light, round and cross-shaped

loopholes A loophole is an ambiguity or inadequacy in a system, such as a law or security, which can be used to circumvent or otherwise avoid the purpose, implied or explicitly stated, of the system. Originally, the word meant an arrowslit, a narrow verti ...

References

{{Reflist National Monuments in County Kilkenny Castles in County Kilkenny

Location

History

Building

Further reading

References