Terryglass Castle, also called the Old Court, is a

fortified house A fortified house or fortified mansion is a type of building which developed in Europe during the Middle Ages, generally with significant fortifications added. During the earlier Roman Empire, Roman period it was common for wealthy landowner ...

and a

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 sp ...

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 ...

Location

Terryglass Castle is located in the northeast corner of Lough Derg.

History

An early Christian monastery was established here in the 6th century by

Columba Columba () or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important abbey ...

, who died around AD 552. Terryglass Castle is listed as having contributed to taxation of the diocese in 1302-1307 and is mentioned as having a covered chancel in the Royal Visitation of 1615, although by the

Civil Survey The Civil Survey was a cadastral survey of landholdings in Ireland carried out in 1654–1656. It was separate from the Down Survey, which began while the Civil Survey was in progress, and made use of Civil Survey data to guide its progress. Wher ...

of 1654–56 only a

churchyard In Christian countries, a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church (building), church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster S ...

is mentioned.

Building

Terryglass is a four-towered

keep A keep 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 castles that were fortified residen ...

built by the Marshall family. The castle was constructed between 1219 and 1232 by John Marshall. By 1232, John Marshall was listed as having significant

debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money Loan, borrowed or otherwise withheld from another party, the creditor. Debt may be owed by a sovereign state or country, local government, company, or an individual. Co ...

s to King Henry III, who used the castle and surrounding lands as security against the debts. The castle was to change hands many times passing to Nicholas Dunheaued in 1275–76,

Theobald le Botiller, 2nd Chief Butler of Ireland Theobald le Botiller, also known as Theobald Butler, 2nd Baron Butler (January 1200 – 19 July 1230) was the son of Theobald Walter, 1st Baron Butler and Maud le Vavasour. He had livery of his lands on 18 July 1222. Marriage and children ...

in 1289, William Marshall in 1290,

Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster and 3rd Baron of Connaught ( ; Latinized to de Burgo; 1240 – 29 July 1326), called The Red Earl, was one of the most powerful Anglo-Norman nobles in Ireland during the late 13th and early 14th centu ...

in 1323 and James Butler in 1589.

References

{{Reflist National monuments in County Tipperary Castles in County Tipperary