Ireland · Ruin
Carrigogunnell
Carrigogunnell Castle is a medieval fortification sited on a volcanic trap-rock outcrop near Clarina in County Limerick, overlooking the lowlands and the River Shannon. The complex comprises an outer ward, an inset upper (inner) ward with ranges of stone buildings and a multi-storey keep. The castle was slighted in 1691 and today survives as a ruin.
Its prime
1536
Today
Ruin
As it stood in 1536
What Carrigogunnell looked like in its prime.
Perched on a dark volcanic trap-rock crag, the castle in its prime presents clustered well-cut local limestone buildings and curtain walls hugging the rock’s contours. A prominent multi-storey rectangular keep rises at the northwest corner above ranges of two- and three-storey accommodation along the inner ward’s walls; an outer, harp-shaped ward extends below with a tower in the southwest. The main, southern gateway opens onto a shallow sloping approach; a narrow sally-port on the west leads down toward the crags.
Its story
The story of Carrigogunnell.
Carrigogunnell stands on an outcrop of volcanic trap rock near Clarina, overlooking the low lands of County Limerick and the River Shannon. The site is first named in 1209, when Carrac Ui Conaing was granted to Donnchad Cairbreach, King of Thomond, and the structure dates to at least the early 13th century.
In 1536 Leonard Grey, 1st Viscount Grane, the Lord Deputy, marched to "the very strong castle called Carekogunyel", which "stands on a high rock and… is the key of all the county". According to Lenihan's history of Limerick, the O'Connell family occupied the castle before surrendering it to the Fitzgeralds, and the Crown later claimed it on the apparently unfounded statement that the O'Briens held from "Lord Clerre", probably Richard de Clare, whose lands had reverted to the Crown.
Captured during the second siege of Limerick, the castle was slighted in September 1691. Its last owner, Donough Brien, had prudently sold it to Michael Boyle, afterwards Archbishop of Dublin, and a Captain Wilson later took it over and built a stable there. The ruin retains its outer ward, an inset upper ward with ranges of stone buildings, and a keep that once rose over 50 feet through five storeys.
Step inside
10 places to explore in 1536.
The record describes 10 distinct spots at Carrigogunnell, including 4 interiors: north-east two-storey building (possible chapel) (interior), inner ward, west range of buildings (exterior/interior), northwest keep (exterior and interior spiral stair) and more. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Clans who held Carrigogunnell.
The families that held Carrigogunnell for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
