Castlegarde

23 registered freehold parcels lie mostly in Castlegarde, from 256 m² to 120,651 m² (12.07 ha, 29.81 acres). The dashed line is the townland's boundary; 17 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 Castlegarde 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.

• 26 May 2025Conditional

  a change of use from private residential to a short term residential rental unit in the former Guard Tower. The Guard Tower is served by an existing septic tank and associated percolation area. Castlegarde Castle is a recorded Protected Structure

  Permission · Limerick County Council, 2560493

• 21 Sept 2018Conditional

  a slatted agricultural shed, manure pit and all associated site works

  Permission · Limerick County Council, 18928

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

Designated sites

• Special Area of Conservation: Lower River Shannon SAC 002165

Recorded monuments

• LI015-036 Castle - tower house
  Description

  Castlegarde (Caisleán na gCeard) Castle is a tower house built some time in the 15th/16th century. In 1586 the state papers listed Brain Buoy [Buí O'Brien], of Castlegard' as one of the gentlemen and freeholders of the county of Limerick, who was not in rebellion (Cal. S.P. Ire. 1586-88, 236). In 1588 after the Desmond Rebellion a plowland of Castlegard was confiscated by the Crown and granted to Sir George Bourchier as part of his Lough Gur estate (Nicholls 1994, 74). In the 17th century the castle was in the ownership of Henry Bourchier (1587-1654), 5th Earl of Bath. By the 1820s the castle was in the possession of Waller O’Grady, the son of a local landowner. After he married in 1823 the tower house was extensively renovated and turned into part of a castellated country house residence. It was probably then in the romantic tradition of the time that the castle was associated with Brian Boru and his head carved over the entrance door to the house. The castle is not depicted in the townland of 'Kasslanenagard' on the 1657 Down Survey map of Coonagh Barony as it was then on English owned lands belonging to Henry Earl of Bath and so was excluded from the land confiscations of the mid 17th century (Hib. Reg.; Simington 1938, 36). The castle was described by John O'Donovan in 1840 as following; ‘In the Townland of Castlegarde in this Parish is situated a Castle of the same name, said to have been erected by a branch of the Mac Brian O’gCuanach family. It was lately (1829) repaired by Waller O’Grady, Esq., the proprietor of the Townland, who has built several beautiful towers near it. It is a small square Castle, five stories high. I have no historical reference to it’ (O’Flanagan 1929, vol. 1, 133). The castle was described in the Ordnance Survey Name Books for the parish of Doon as following; 'Castleguard is the seat of the Ho. Waller O'Grady. It is the ruin of a castle, said to have been first built by the O'Briens, and now repaired by the above proprietor. It is seated on a limestone rock and is covered with ivy. Other apartments have been added to it since 1829, at a cost of about £5,000 (OSNB). Westropp recorded the following details about this castle; ‘1586, Castlegarde C[astle] in Coonagh (C.S.P.I., p 311). 1587 Called Castlenegarde (Fi. 5282). 1655 Castletown and Killanegard, in Doone, held by H. Earl of Bath (C.S. xxiii, p26); Castleanegard (B.D., p 45); Kasslanegard in Doone (Petty, 67)’ (Westropp 1906-7, 104). In the 1820s the then proprietor Waller O’Grady (youngest son of Standish O’Grady, 1st Viscount Guillamore whose seat was Cahir Guillamore, located just west of Lough Gur) employed the architects James and George Richard Pain whose work involved ‘modernising a tower house, adding a castellated wing to the structure and restoring the walls of the old castle bawn giving them battlements and a new castellated gateway’ (Lee 2005, 235; Bence-Jones 1978, 69). The impetus for the building appears to have been Waller O’Grady’s marriage in 1823, when ‘he and his wife wished to retain the use of the rooms in the tower-house, which were carefully renovated so as not to spoil the external appearance’ (de Breffny & ffolliott 1975, 194). The castle was described by the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage [NIAH] as following; 'Attached four-bay one-and-half storey country house, c. 1840, having central projecting tower. House attached to five-storey square-plan tower house, built c. 1198. Attached bawn wall enclosing site, with limestone arch gateway and lodge to south-west corner. Pitched slate roofs with lead ridging, stepped crenellations to house with cut eaves course and dentils. Rubble limestone walls with roughly dressed quoins having battered base to tower. Dressed limestone walls to house with cut plinth, carved face to central tower. Square-headed openings with mixed timber sliding sash and fixed timber windows to tower, some having geometrical tracery. Round-headed windows to first floor of house under label mouldings having one-over-one pane timber sliding sash windows, four light opening to ground floor under hoodmoulding having replacement uPVC window. Square-headed openings to eastern end of front elevation having timber sliding sash windows. Pointed arch door opening to tower having cut limestone surround and timber and glazed door. Pointed arch opening to central projecting tower of house comprising double-leaf timber panelled door under hoodmoulding. Flight of limestone steps to front of house. Entrance arch and lodge comprising pointed arch within dressed limestone walls with cut stringcourse and capping to parapet. Cross loops to wall. Carved gargle to parapet on south-west elevation. Three carved limestone statues depicting three goddesses, Bacchus, Mars and goddess Athene entwined in a fish to north-east elevation. Adjoining gate lodge comprising circular-plan tower having dressed limestone walls with crenellated battlements supported on cut corbels. Square-headed window opening under label moulding to north-east elevation, loop windows to south-west elevation under hoodmouldings all having lattic glazing. Rubble limestone bawn walls with crenellations punctuated by carved towers enclosing site’ (www.buildingsofireland.ie; NIAH Reg. No. 21901517). Both of the dates given in the nIAH description are inaccurate. As noted above the castellated work by the Pain's dates to c. 1823-c. 1829 and not c. 1840. The date 1198 might be acceptable for a Norman keep- which this is not- but is three hundred years too early for a tower house. Later in the description it states that ‘this complex (was) originally built by the O'Briens', which is also inaccurate. Compiled by: Denis Power Revised by: Caimin O'Brien Date of revised upload: 1 July 2020

• LI015-037 Ringfort - rath
  Description

  Situated on a gentle N-facing slope in undulating pasture. A roughly circular enclosure (30m N-S; 28.7m E-W) defined by a scarped edge (Wth 4.8m; H 0.5m), with an external fosse (Wth 2.4m; D 0.2m) which is discernible in the NE and from the ESE to NNW. The interior slopes down to W. Compiled by: Denis Power Date of upload: 4 July 2013

• LI015-063 Enclosure
  Description

  Situated in poorly drained pasture with moderate views in all directions. Identified from aerial photography (Bruff Syrvey: Map 15, no 34; 4/3726) as a possible sub-rectangular enclosure. There was no evident trace of the monument when the site was inspected. Compiled by: Denis Power Date of upload 23 October 2013

• LI015-064 Enclosure
  Description

  Situated at the base of a W-facing slope, in poorly drained undulating pasture with good views to N and S. Identified from aerial photography (Bruff Survey: Map 15, no 32; 4/3727) as a possible circular enclosure. There was no evident trace of the monument when the site was inspected. Compiled by: Denis Power Date of upload: 23 October 2013

• LI015-090 Enclosure
  Description

  This is a rectangular enclosure evident on Google Earth immediately SW of a field boundary and c. 45m NW of ringfort (LI015-037----). Compiled by: Denis Power Date of upload: 4 July 2013

• LI015-091 Enclosure
  Description

  This is a rectalinear enclosure evident on Google Earth c. 4om SE of ringfort (LI015-037----). Compiled by: Denis Power Date of upload: 4 July 2013

• LI015-092 Enclosure
  Description

  This is a rectangular enclosure evident on Google Earth immediately SE of a field boundary. Compiled by: Denis Power Date of upload: 4 July 2013

• LI015-093 Enclosure
  Description

  A roughly square enclosure evident on Google Earth at this location. Compiled by: Denis Power Date of upload: 4 July 2013

• LI024-316 Enclosure
  Description

  Cropmark of circular-shaped enclosure (approx. diam. 20m) visible on Digital Globe aerial imagery. Situated on poorly drained land with two drainage ditches running off circular enclosure, may be related to post-1700 land reclamation. See attached image from Google Earth aerial photographs taken 18/11/2018 Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien based on details provided by Jean-Charles Caillère Date of upload: 15 April 2020

Architectural heritage

• Castle Garde, country house, castle/fortified house, 1830–1850 · Regional interest
  Description

  Attached four-bay one-and-half storey country house, c. 1840, having central projecting tower. House attached to five-storey square-plan tower house, built c. 1198. Attached bawn wall enclosing site, with limestone arch gateway and lodge to south-west corner. Pitched slate roofs with lead ridging, stepped crenellations to house with cut eaves course and dentils. Rubble limestone walls with roughly dressed quoins having battered base to tower. Dressed limestone walls to house with cut plinth, carved face to central tower. Square-headed openings with mixed timber sliding sash and fixed timber windows to tower, some having geometrical tracery. Round-headed windows to first floor of house under label mouldings having one-over-one pane timber sliding sash windows, four light opening to ground floor under hoodmoulding having replacement uPVC window. Square-headed openings to eastern end of front elevation having timber sliding sash windows. Pointed arch door opening to tower having cut limestone surround and timber and glazed door. Pointed arch opening to central projecting tower of house comprising double-leaf timber panelled door under hoodmoulding. Flight of limestone steps to front of house. Entrance arch and lodge comprising pointed arch within dressed limestone walls with cut stringcourse and capping to parapet. Cross loops to wall. Carved gargle to parapet on south-west elevation. Three carved limestone statues depicting three goddesses, Bacchus, Mars and goddess Athene entwined in a fish to north-east elevation. Adjoing gate lodge comprising circular-plan tower having dressed limestone walls with crenellated battlements supported on cut corbels. Square-headed window opening under label moulding to north-east elevation, loop windows to south-west elevation under hoodmouldings all having lattic glazing. Rubble limestone bawn walls with crenellations punctuated by carved towers enclosing site.

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 5 homes in this area is likely to have high radon levels. Testing a home

Landslides

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

Terrain model

LiDAR of the Office of Public Works, flown in 2011, at 2 m: tile OPW_1248 (ZIP).

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 Castlegarde with five sales or more. The sales of the area are on the page of Co. Limerick.

Name

Castlegarde · Caisleán na gCeard

Area

2,023,449 m² (202.34 ha, 500.01 acres)

Civil parish

Doon, and its townlands

Barony

Coonagh

Electoral division

Doon South, the unit of the census

Census 2022

Doon South electoral division: 1,352 people in 507 households; 75% of households own their home; 28% of homes were built since 2001; 10% of dwellings stood vacant on census night, and 1% were holiday homes.

Neighbouring townlands

Clogher, Gortavalla North, Gortavalla South, Gortmanna, Killuragh, Knocknacarriga, Pullagh

Placenames

Castlegarde 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.