Forts
As in most parishes in
Ireland forts are numerous in Inchicronan (over 40 according to some
authorities) These former fortified dwelling places continued to be
occupied until the 17th century and are usually situated
on rather high, dry, defensible sites, which often makes them quite
distinguishable even when overgrown, as very many of them are. The reason
that so few of them were, up to recently, damaged or destroyed was due
to their being associated with the fairies. No one who did injury to
such places would prosper, it was believed, and stories about of people
who, through greed or stupidity, did so and paid the inevitable price
– physical or mental disablement or even death.
Most forts contain a souterrain,
an underground passage used a a place of sanctuary in times of attack
or as a storage-place for perishable goods, but these have mostly been
filled in to prevent injury to cattle and horses. An example of such
adjacent to the village may be seen near the railway (D5) and one even
more picturesque (Cloonalough Fort), though just outside the parish
bounds (EO), overlooks Rathclooney Lake.
Castles
Of the remnants of the
seven castles in the parish, only one, O’Brien’s castle (E1), is of
any interest architecturally today. But all of them, particularly at
Carrahil and Inchicronan, have had vivid hsitories, especially in the
17th centruy, a tiime when Ireland was in political turmoil.
Changes of ownership wer frequent, often violent, as can be seen from
the snatches that survive to us of the happenings of that time, e.g.
on Sunday 13th March 1642 Inchicronan castle (D4) was beseiged
by the O’Gradys (its former owners) together with Gilladuff o’Shaughnessy
and the Burkes of Kiltartan. A year earlier, during the 1641 rebellion,
the English settlers of Inchicronan, Ruan and Kilkeedy had been forced
to take refuge in this castle and it was the statements of some of these
survivors that were later used by the Cromwellians to justify their
harsh measures against the native Irish. By 1651 the castle was held
for Parliament by a Colonel Ingoldsby and at this time Donogh Neylon,
a Franciscan friar captured in Ennis, was hanged here. In 1653 a Captain
Stearne was cutting timber locally for the repair of several castles,
including this one, and the soldiers remained until at least 1656. After
1664 no further recorded mention of castles occurs, and from what little
remains today, a viewer would never imagine such stirring deeds to have
taken place here.
Of nearby Carrahill castle
(D4) only the foundations remain plus an intriguing submerged causeway
to Eagle Island, which suggests that this latter may have been a crannog,
perhaps a place of final refuge for the occupants of the castle.
What remains of Doon castle
(H9) today is scant: a few scattered stones. Last occupied by the Butlers
of Bunnahow, it seems to have been demolished by them when they moved
to Bunnahow House, and the stones used to build a hunting lodge near
Doon graveyard. Who built Doon castle is unclear but it is dated from
the early 15th century and for the next two centuries changed
hands frequently, being reported as in ruins by 1604. Renovated, it
was owned by the Earl of Thomond in 1641 and in 1689 it was leased to
James Butler who had been transplanted from Clonmel to Srangalloon in
1657. In 1703 the Butlers consolidated their grip with a 99-year lease
to Sir Toby and it remained a Butler home until the completion of Ballyline
House in the early 19th century. By then the family had established
themselves not only as huge landowners but also as important functionaries
in the administrative machinery of the county as a whole.
Close by, on a hill overlooking
Doon graveyard (H9), is a folly in the shape of a little castle. From
it a fine view of some of the nearby lakes may be had.
Three miles south of Crusheen
village, at the left of the road to Tulla (E10) stands O’Brien’s Castle,
still in a fine state of preservation. Why it has not shared the fate
of the other three, since it was involved in the same wars and tribulations
as they, is hard to account for. What is certain is that it is well
worth a visit.
Built apparently by a
Bishop O’Brien in the mid-15th century, its history over
the next three centuries features many O’Briens and Butlers as owners.
It was garrisoned by the Cromwellians in the 1650s and the doughty Captain
Stearne repaired it with timber cut locally. At this time also, the
native Irish were moved from within a radius of one mile of its walls,
as in the case of Inchicronan castle. By 1808 it was uninhabited and
has been unoccupied since.
Visitors may look around
with the prior permission of the owner. The first few steps of the spiral
staircase are missing, but it is not difficult to get across the gap
and the climb to the tip is worthwhile. Features worth seeing include
a large cut-stone fireplace and the remnants of interior plasterwork,
as well as a large hole in one of the floors caused by lightning earlier
this century. From the battlements fine views of the country round about
can be had.
