Cahir Castle

Cahir Castle (Irish: Caisleán na Cathrach), one of the largest castles in Ireland, is sited on an island in the river Suir. It was built from 1142 by Conchobar Ua Briain, King of Thomond. Now situated in Cahir town centre, County Tipperary, the castle is well preserved and has guided tour and audiovisual shows in multiple languages.

The castle was sited on and near an earlier native fortification known as a cathair (stone fort), which gave its name to the place. This stood in opposition to Norman expansion northward from Ardfinnan Castle, four miles south. The core structure of the castle dates to construction in the 13th century by the O'Brien family. The castle was built in two parts, with the side now by the street being built 200 years before the side now housing the audio-visual show.

Granted to the powerful Butler family in the late 14th century, the castle was enlarged and remodelled between the 15th and 17th centuries. It fell into ruin in the late 18th century and was partially restored in the 1840s. The Great Hall was partly rebuilt in 1840.

In 1375, the castle was granted to James Butler, newly created Earl of Ormond, for his loyalty to Edward III, King of England. His son James, the second Earl (by his second marriage) passed the lands around the barony of Iffa and Offa West to his children, though they were not themselves noble. This changed by 1542 when the first of the Barons Cahir was created. Unlike their Anglican kinsmen, this branch of the Butler dynasty sided with the Roman Catholic Irish in the Elizabethan wars. In 1599, the castle was captured after a three-day siege by the army of the Earl of Essex and was, for a year, put under the charge of Sir Charles Blount.

Lord Cahir joined with the Earl of Tyrone in 1601 and was attainted for treason, but later obtained a full pardon. In 1627, the castle was the scene of a celebrated killing when Cahir's son-in-law, Lord Dunboyne, murdered his distant cousin, James Prendergast, in a dispute over an inheritance: he was tried for the killing but acquitted.

During the Irish Confederate Wars, the castle was besieged twice. In 1647, George Mathew, the guardian of the young Lord Cahir, surrendered to Murrough O'Brien, 6th Baron Inchiquin (later 1st Earl, and a descendant of Cahir's builder) following his victory at the Battle of Knocknanauss.

Text adapted from “Cahir Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Cahir Castle ranks #1,006 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #13 of the 172 mapped in Ireland. Founded 1142, it is older than 84% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 544 atlas entries founded in the 12th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 4,863 times in the last 60 days, more than 84% of the atlas. 4 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Waterford, 56 km away. See how Ireland compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗