Toormore

41 registered freehold parcels lie mostly in Toormore, from 105 m² to 221,349 m² (22.13 ha, 54.7 acres). The dashed line is the townland's boundary; 28 neighbouring parcels touch it.

Download the townland: DXF, in Irish Transverse Mercator metres, with its boundary, parcels and buildings; GeoJSON or KML.

No zone of a development plan covers Toormore in the national zoning. Outside zoned towns and villages, the county development plan's rural policies apply to each application.

Source: Tailte Éireann and the Department of Housing (MyPlan), national zoning, CC BY 4.0.

No planning application touches the townland of Toormore in the national file, which goes back to 2010.

Source: National Planning Applications, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Applicants are not shown.

Designated sites

No designated site (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area, Natural Heritage Area or proposed one) touches the townland of Toormore.

Recorded monuments

• CL016-082 Ringfort - unclassified
  Description

  On the summit of a hill in an area of partly cleared and drained pasture and immediately to the NW of a farmyard. Hachured and named ‘Knockaunacurra Fort’ on the 1840 and 1916 eds. of the OS 6-inch maps. A building is depicted in the E sector of the interior on the 1840 map. Listed as ‘enclosure’ in the RMP (1996). A subcircular area (26m N-S) is defined by a wide deep fosse (Wth 6-8m; D 1.7m at SW). An almost totally collapsed and grassed-over wall is visible intermittently around its inner edge and a similar wall is also visible around its outer edge at N. These walls may be the remains of an inner and outer cashel wall or stone-faced earthen banks but not enough of either remains to be certain of this. If the outer wall/bank continued all the way around the fosse, the external dimensions of the monument would be 40m N-S. The interior is marshy and slopes to the N. According to local information, the area of undulating overgrown rubble close to the centre is the remains of an old manor house. Compiled by: Olive Alcock and Lynda McCormack Date of upload: 9 May 2022

• CL016-083 Castle - unclassified
  Description

  Although overlooked by higher, overgrown and wooded ground from W-N-E, the monument is, nevertheless, defensively sited on a broad shale rock outcrop around which the fast-flowing River Fergus bends SW-E-N. Indicated and named ‘Inchovea Castle (in ruins)’ on the first (1840) and later Cassini (1916) editions of the OS 6-inch map. Described by O’ Donovan (1839) as a castle ‘in tolerable preservation, in the Townland of Toormore, and called the Castle of Inchoveigh’ (Comber 1997, 90) and subsequently described by Westropp (1899, 354 & 357) as having ‘two stories above the upper vault’ and a fireplace with ‘spiral pillars’. In 1992, the castle was surveyed by Ua Cróinín and Breen (please see their unpublished report attached) who interpreted the castle’s name ‘Inchovea’ as ‘Inse Bheithe - River Meadows of the Birch Trees’. They suggested that while it was owned by Sir Donald O’Brien in 1580 it was likely constructed decades before this date, and they further noted that it was not known when it collapsed but that stones were reused in the nearby farmhouse and associated out buildings and local knowledge suggested that the stones were also reused to build Inchovea National School. They observed that the shale rock upon which it stands was eroding which might cause further collapse. On field inspection in 1999, the castle was recorded as the partially ivy-clad, (and almost literally) half-ruined remains of a 5 storey tower house standing to its full height (H c. 21m) at the E, with only the E-wall (int. L 3.46m N-S; ext. L c. 7.5m; wall T c. 2m) and two short returns of the adjoining N wall (int. L c. 5m) and S-wall (int. L c. 5m) surviving. The walls (T 1.68-2.45m) are constructed from randomly coursed mortared masonry with quoins on the external angles, while a string course of slate indicates the base of the battlements. The walls rise from a plinth built directly on bedrock and have a tall (H 6m) base batter. Ground-floor level comprises a single, stone-vaulted chamber (H 3.85m) with traces of wickerwork centering under the pointed arch. A centrally placed opening in the E wall (int. Wth 1.4m) reaches the ground and may be a window, although rubble outside of this opening may indicate collapsed steps leading to a doorway? Two corbels in the N wall and two corbels in the S wall opposite suggests that the ground floor may have had a low loft, or half-loft, under the vault. Although the upper floors are no longer accessible, many features are still visible: the wall chambers or aumbrys and both of the corner spiral staircases are intact. In the interior at first-floor level, a square headed opening is centrally placed in the E wall with an aumbry to its S. There are corbels in each corner and the embrasure of a window or a cupboard is visible in the N wall. At second-floor level, there is a vaulted stone ceiling and a centrally placed square opening in the E wall. Staircases rise in the NE and SE angles and a mural passage in the N wall may have led to a garderobe. There is also a single jamb or an embrasure visible in the S wall. At third-floor level, there is a centrally placed twin-light opening in the E wall with hood moulding visible externally. There is also a single jamb window embrasure in the N wall and a single jamb window embrasure in the S wall. At fourth-floor level, there is a centrally placed twin-light opening in the E wall, again with external hood moulding, and a possible window or embrasure jamb survives in the N wall. In 1992, Ua Cróinín and Breen (op. cit.) observed rough cast lime plaster surviving on the external face of the N wall, towards its top (H 3.04m). They also recorded a possible bawn (CL016-083001-) adjoining the castle to N and NE which was not clearly identifiable on the 1999 inspection, though the area was extensively overgrown. See attached document with details from Risteárd Ua Cróinín and Martin Breen, The Castles and Tower-houses of Co. Clare (unpublished report). Uploaded courtesy of R. Ua Cróinín and M. Breen. Date of upload: 5 December 2014 See attached image: CL016-083----_plate 1 View of surviving remains from SW, 16-5-1999. Compiled by: Gearoid Conroy and Lynda McCormack Date of upload: 10 November 2022

• CL016-083001 Bawn
  Description

  In their 1992 survey of ‘Inchovea Castle’ (CL016-083----), Ua Cróinín and Breen commented, ‘The courtyard or bawn is almost intact, measuring 30m by 20m, and is defended by the stream [River Fergus] on the west and north sides, by the towerhouse on the south and by high stone cliffs to the east (please see their unpublished report and plan attached to the castle record: CL016-083----). On field inspection in 1999, the courtyard/bawn adjoining the castle to N and NE was not clearly identifiable, though the area was extensively overgrown. Compiled by: Gearoid Conroy Date of upload: 10 November 2022

• CL016-085 Ringfort - rath
  Description

  On a S-facing hillside in well-drained pasture, c. 20m to the SE of a farmyard. Hachured and named ‘Toormore Fort’ on the 1840 and 1916 eds. of the OS 6-inch maps. Listed as ‘enclosure’ in the RMP (1996). A subcircular rath (ext. dims. 21.2m N-S; 18.5m E-W) defined by a low earthen bank and scarp. The bank (Wth c. 2.3-3m at base) is best preserved at NW and NE (int. H 0.6m; ext. H 0.3-0.45m) but is very low at W (H 0.15m). Only a scarp is visible at S (H 1.1m). A slight lowering of the bank at E may indicate an entrance. The interior slopes to the S. Compiled by: Olive Alcock and Lynda McCormack Date of upload: 11 May 2022

• CL016-088 Enclosure
  Description

  At the base of a steep S-facing hillock in marshy pasture and immediately to the N of a stream; overlooked by steep hills on all sides. Hachured on the 1842 ed. of the OS 6-inch map as a large roughly subcircular enclosure (c. 50m NW-SE; c. 47m NE-SW). On field inspection in May 1999, the area was heavily overgrown with gorse and reeds and no visible trace was noted. However, its outline is visible on Google Earth aerial imagery dated March 2020. The following image has been uploaded: CL016-088----_01.jpg Compiled by: Olive Alcock and Lynda McCormack Date of upload: 12 May 2022

Architectural heritage

• Saint Attracta's Catholic Church, church/chapel, 1850–1890 · Regional interest
  Description

  Freestanding double-height Roman Catholic church, built c. 1870, with three-bay nave elevation, polygonal chancel and sacristy to rear. Pitched artificial slate roof with rendered bellcote and cast-iron rainwater goods. Rendered walls. Round-headed openings with timber framed windows and concrete sills. Retaining interior features including marble altar and timber altar rails. Rendered boundary walls to site with stiles and gates.

Designated sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service. Recorded monuments: Sites and Monuments Record, National Monuments Service. Buildings: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Works at or in relation to a recorded monument need two months' written notice to the National Monuments Service (National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994, section 12).

Radon

About 1 in 10 homes in this area is likely to have high radon levels. Testing a home

Landslides

Susceptibility moderately high, moderately low, low, low (inferred), on the 1:50,000 map.

Terrain model

No LiDAR survey of the Office of Public Works covers the centre of the townland of Toormore.

Flooding

The flood maps of the Office of Public Works: floodinfo.ie.

Radon Risk Map of Ireland, Environmental Protection Agency; Landslide Susceptibility Classification, Geological Survey Ireland; both CC BY 4.0. LiDAR: contains Irish Public Sector Data (Geological Survey Ireland & the Office of Public Works) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.

No address of the register names Toormore with five sales or more. The sales of the area are on the page of Co. Clare.

Name

Toormore

Area

1,811,653 m² (181.17 ha, 447.67 acres)

Civil parish

Kiltoraght, and its townlands

Barony

Corcomroe

Electoral division

Kiltoraght, the unit of the census

Census 2022

Kiltoraght electoral division: 194 people in 74 households; 80% of households own their home; 20% of homes were built since 2001; 17% of dwellings stood vacant on census night, and 15% were holiday homes.

Neighbouring townlands

Ballynacarhagh, Booltiaghadine, Caherblonick South, Drumeevin, Kilmore North, Knockaneden, Knockroe

Placenames

Toormore on logainm.ie, the Placenames Database of Ireland

Townlands, civil parishes, baronies and electoral divisions, National Statutory Boundaries, Tailte Éireann, CC BY 4.0. Census 2022, Small Area Population Statistics by electoral division, Central Statistics Office, CC BY 4.0. A townland is the smallest land division of Ireland, and the unit of a rural address; old registers such as the 1901 and 1911 censuses file it under its civil parish and barony.