Killahara Castle

Last crawled date: 1 year, 11 months ago

Killahara Castle, a classic Irish tower house in North Tipperary,reflects nearly 500 years of Irish history, witness to the struggles between rival Celtic clans, the invasion of Cromwell,up to the Twentieth century 'Troubles'. Through many years, it was an,empty, uninhabited ruin - although, a cow lived there for several years. On the roof. It was built about 1550 by the Gaelic chieftain Donagh O'Fogarty, who fell in battle in 1582. In the late 1700's, decendants of the original owners, the Fogarty's, became tenants on the property, but,ruined by the Great Famine, the last of the family, Black Jack Fogarty, was evicted in 1852. Of course, every Irish castle must have a ghost, at Killahara, it's Black Jack. For most of the next 150 years, the castle was abandoned, although, in 1981, a cow ascended the intact stone spiral staircase to the roof, and liked it enough to remain for two years, faithfully fed and watered by a local woman. It remained abandoned until the spring of 2008, when two local men, Patrick Noel Ryan and Tom O'Neill, embarked on an ambitious and innovative project to render Killahara habitable again, and to demonstrate that even such a major project can be ecologically sound. The full story can be read at The castle's website,given below. #castle #Ireland #recycle