Rochestown

56 registered freehold parcels lie mostly in Rochestown, from 27 m² to 602,108 m² (60.21 ha, 148.78 acres). The dashed line is the townland's boundary. 20 neighbouring parcels touch it.

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

No zone of a development plan covers Rochestown 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 Sept 2025Unconditional

  construction of (I) cubicle shed with underground effluent tank & feeding aprons, (II) Silage pit extension, (III) Calf shed and all associated site works. Demolition of open tank also required

  Extension of duration · Tipperary County Council, 25203

• 28 Jun 2022Conditional

  a dwelling house, domestic garage, effluent treatment system and percolation area, entrance and all other associated site works

  Permission, 1 home · Tipperary County Council, 2260321

• 3 Jun 2021Conditional

  the replacement of approximately 184m of existing 2.4m high chainlink fencing and associated gates with 184m of new 2.4m high green palisade security fencing/gates and all associated site works at an existing Above Ground Natural Gas Installation located

  Permission · Tipperary County Council, 21802

• 13 May 2021N/a

  the replacement of approximately 184m of existing 2.4m high chainlink fencing and associated gates with 184m of new 2.4m high green palisade security fencing/gates and all associated site works at an existing Above Ground Natural Gas Installation located

  Permission · Tipperary County Council, 21663

• 30 Dec 2020Conditional

  (i) construct an extension to an existing dwelling, (ii) widen existing vehicular entrance & (iii) construct a new waste water treatment system and all associated site works

  Permission · Tipperary County Council, 201606

• 19 Jun 2020Conditional

  construction of (I) cubicle shed with underground effluent tank & feeding aprons, (II) Silage pit extension, (III) Calf shed and all associated site works. Demolition of open tank also required

  Permission · Tipperary County Council, 20622

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 Suir SAC 002137

Recorded monuments

• TS081-042001 Church
  Description

  On the E edge of a natural rise in undulating terrain, in a small wooded area, the church is centrally placed within a rectangular graveyard (TS081-042003-). The River Suir is located c. 300m to the W, and a tower house (TS082-055001-) c. 300m to the SE. The church (ext. dims. 15.75m x 8.4m), aligned E-W, is built of roughly coursed limestone rubble, with good dressed quoins. Both gables survive in good condition (E gable T 1.05m; H 5m above ext.; W gable H c. 5.5m to apex). The N wall (max. H 1.16m above ext.) is in a precarious state, mostly collapsed, while the S wall (T 0.84m; max. H 1.25) has also largely collapsed. A gap roughly W of centre in the S wall is probably the original position of the doorway. A sheela-na-gig (TS081-042002-) was formerly located in the E wall of the church. The E window is a simple ogee-headed single-light, rebated internally in a splayed, flat-headed embrasure. It is chamfered externally, has hollow spandrels, pocked tooling and drafted margins. There is an aumbry (Wth 0.42m; D 0.55m; H 0.47m) at the E end of the S wall. There are late 18th-century gravestones within the church. Six architectural fragments (TS081-042004- to TS081-042009-) were identified in the graveyard, re-used as grave-markers, all situated S of the church. Two of the fragments are door jambs and two are from the arch of the doorway. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011

• TS081-042003 Graveyard
  Description

  On the E edge of a natural rise in undulating terrain, the River Suir is located c. 300m to W. There is a small wooded area immediately S of the graveyard. According to the OS Letters, in 1840 the graveyard was 'much used' (O'Flanagan 1931, vol. 1, 34 (89)), however, by 1908 it described as 'the old cemetery, wood-overgrown, but still occasionally used' (Power 1908, 52). Church (TS081-042001-) is centrally placed within a rectangular, stone walled graveyard (dims. 50m NE-SW; 24m NW-SE). Six architectural fragments (TS081-042004- to TS081-042009-) were identified in the graveyard reused as grave-markers, all situated S of the church. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 13 January 2014

• TS082-055 Settlement cluster
  Description

  On the summit of a ridge, overlooking a valley to the E. The River Suir flows c. 500m to the W, in undulating terrain. In the Civil Survey (1654-6), reference is made to 'the walles of a Castle and a little castle both burned, a slate house, and a bawne about them' (Simington 1931, vol. 1, 348). Power (1908, 53) describes how 'the castle of Rochestown was stormed in 1647 by Inchiquin who put its fifty warders to the sword and burned "much corn and divers towns thereabouts'. The settlement consists of a tower house (TS082-055001-) and bawn (TS082-055002-), church (TS081-042001-) and graveyard (TS081-042) and earthworks. In the field S of the tower house there is a roughly curving natural ridge, the top of which appears to be defined by a very low, old field bank (G.S.I. May 1977 S. 688/9). There is flooding at the base of the ridge in a natural hollow. In the field E of Rochestown tower house the ground undulates gradually to the W in gently undulating terraces visible on an aerial photograph (Bord Gais 6677). It is possible that an old field boundary followed the line of the edge of the ridge. In 1981 an area c. 150m S of the tower house, was excavated in advance of the laying of the gas pipeline (MacLeod in Cleary et al. 1987, 146-50). This excavation revealed that the terracing was a result of man-made activity, most of the terraces showed evidence of ridge and furrow cultivation. A trackway, partly cobbled, was also uncovered. Finds from the trackway included a 1689 gunmoney sixpence and 17th-century pottery. According to the excavator this gave access to each terrace from the vicinity of the tower house and probably also to some associated settlement (ibid.). The finds suggested that the terraces were tilled until the later half of the 17th century (ibid. 148-50). At the time of the excavation two platforms, one circular (diam. 10m; H 0.3m), the other semi-circular, were noted outside the excavated area, close to the trackway (ibid. 148). It was suggested that these were settlement features associated with the terraces. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 10 February 2014

• TS082-055001 Castle - tower house
  Description

  On the summit of a ridge, overlooking a valley to the E. The River Suir flows c. 500m to the W, in undulating terrain. According to the Calendar of Ormond Deeds the Juror for Rochestown in 1551 is John Anglise, and in 1583 Edmund English (COD V, 61, 76). In the Civil Survey 1654-6, reference is made to 'the walles of a Castle and a little castle both burned, a slate house, and a bawne about them' and names the lessee in 1640 as Thomas Grove of Rochestown, English Protestant (Simington 1931, vol. 1, 348). In 1641 the castle, containing a garrison of nine men as well as forty women and children was besieged by members of the Confederacy, during which time the bawn wall was breached (Power 1989, 66). After five weeks the occupants surrendered and were brought unharmed to Caher (ibid.). A few years later, in 1647, the castle was stormed by Inchiquin who put its fifty warders to the sword and burned 'much corn and divers towns thereabouts' (Power 1908, 53). The tower house (ext. diam. c.16.8m x 8.75m) is located in the midst of an old, but working, farm complex with a farm building built up against its E face and a shed against the W side. It is built of limestone rubble, roughly coursed, with well-cut and dressed quoins and has an external pebble-dash render with a limewash finish. The wall thickness ranges from 1.27m (N wall) to 1.63m (S wall). It survives to second- floor level and has a base-batter (H 1.8m; Wth 0.3m). It was entered through a round-headed doorway at the S end of the W wall. The external face of the doorway has dressing consisting of a drafted margin and two parallel lines of continuous punch tooling, and a yett-hole at the apex. The doorway led into a small lobby area, with a doorway to the ground-floor chamber directly opposite, now removed, and a stairway to the N rising along the W wall, access to which is now completely blocked. The W end of the S wall in the entrance lobby has been broken through to form an entrance. The main ground-floor chamber was lit by a window in the S and E walls, both blocked. A barrel-vaulted chamber to N of the main chamber was entered from a doorway in the dividing wall, now completely blocked with stone. The vault springs from the N and S walls and the narrow chamber is now accessed through an opening broken through the north wall. The first floor main chamber was entered from the mural stair, lit by two flat-headed opes, and rested on wooden beams carried on corbels, two of which survive in both E and W walls. It was lit by flat-headed single-light windows in the E, S and W walls. The barrel-vault over the first floor, springing from the E and W walls, has largely collapsed. At the N end of the E wall a doorway leads into a small passage with a garderobe at the NE angle, lit by a flat-headed single-light in the W wall. Another doorway, of which only a fragment of the arch remains springing from the S wall, led into a small mural chamber in the W wall, above the entrance lobby and therefore possibly accessing a murder hole. A water tank, inserted in the 1940s at the N end of the first floor, is now hidden behind a concrete block wall. This area, above the ground-floor barrel vaulted chamber at the N end of the tower house, may have been a separate chamber accessed directly from the main chamber. The stairs turned E to access the second-floor level and may have risen further as a spiral but all evidence has been destroyed. Most of the second-floor level does not survive. According to the OS Letters the castle was 'in progress of being taken down by the present proprietor, and it will be razed to the ground before Mr. Du Noyer arrives to sketch it' (O'Flanagan 1930, vol. 1, 34). Though the tower house was not completely demolished it would appear that the upper levels were removed in the 1840s. In the Civil Survey (1654-6), reference is made to 'the walles of a Castle and a little castle both burned, a slate house, and a bawne about them' (Simington 1931, vol. 1, 348). Power (1908, 53) describes how 'the castle of Rochestown was stormed in 1647 by Inchiquin who put its fifty warders to the sword and burned "much corn and divers towns thereabouts'. Situated on the summit of a ridge, overlooking valley to E. The River Suir flows c. 500m to W, in undulating terrain. The tower house (ext. diam. c. 16.8m x 8.75m) is located in the midst of an old, but working, farm complex with farm building built-up against it's E face and shed against the W side. It is built of roughly coursed limestone rubble with well-cut and dressed quoins and has an external pebble-dash render with a limewash finish. The wall thickness range from 1.27m (N wall) to 1.63m (S wall). It survives up to three storeys high and has a base-batter (H 1.8m; Wth 0.3m). It was entered through a round-headed doorway at the S end of the E wall. The external face of the doorway has dressing consisting of a drafted margin and two parallel lines of continuous punch tooling. The doorway led into a small lobby area, with doorway to the ground-floor chamber directly opposite but now removed and a stairway to the N rising along the W wall, entered through a now blocked passage. The W end of the S wall in the entrance lobby has been broken through to form an entrance. The main ground-floor chamber was lit by a window in the S and E wall, both blocked. A barrel-vaulted chamber to N of the main chamber was probably entered from a doorway in the dividing wall which has a large breach, now completely filled-in. First floor was entered from the mural stair. The main chamber rests on a wooden floor and was barrel-vaulted over, though this has largely collapsed. It was lit by flat-headed single-light windows in the E, S and W walls. At the N end of the E wall a doorway gives access to a small mural chamber, probably a garderobe, lit by a single-light window at the N end, not accessible. Another doorway at the S end of the W wall of the main chamber gave access to a small mural chamber. Water tank, inserted in the 1940s, at the N end of the first floor. The stairs turns E up to second-floor level. Small chamber to the N. Most of the second-floor level does not survive. According to the OS Letters the castle was 'in progress of being taken down by the present proprietor, and it will be razed to the ground before Mr. Du Noyer arrives to sketch it' (O'Flanagan 1930, vol. 1, 34). Though the tower house was not completely demolished it would appear that the upper levels were removed in the 1840s. According to Colles (????, 575) a sheela-na-gig (TS082-055005-), now missing, had been incorporated in the tower house. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 26 August 2011

• TS082-055002 Bawn
  Description

  The Civil Survey (1654-6) records 'the walles of a Castle ... and a bawne about them' (Simington 1931, vol. 1, 348). In 1641 Rochestown was beseiged for six weeks, during which time the beseigers '...brought a sow [seige engine] to the bawn wall, broke it down and approached the castle wall' (Grove White 1911, 10). The bawn associated with the tower house at Rochestown (TS082-055001-) is not visible above ground. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 10 February 2014

• TS082-056 Enclosure
  Description

  On gradual S-facing slope in undulating terrain, in meadow. Ballindoney Castle (TS082-059----) and a ringfort (TS082-057----) are visible to the NE and E respectively. The monument is depicted on the 1st (1840) ed. OS 6-inch map as a roughly rectangular enclosure (dims. c. 23m NE-SW; c. 19m NW-SE) bisected by a E-W field boundary. On the 1904-05 ed. only the N half of the monument is depicted. According to the landowner the remaining N portion was levelled in 1957. Traces of the enclosure are still visible as a slightly raised area. The landowner remarked that during a dry summer the outline is much clearer. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 10 February 2014

• TS082-095 Enclosure
  Description

  On a gentle NW-facing slope, just off the crest of a hill, in gently undulating terrain, under tillage. A large circular enclosure and smaller conjoined circular enclosure (TS082-095001-) to the NE identified as cropmarks on aerial photographs (ASIAP (30) 32, 33, 3-8-1996). There is no visible trace of either enclosure above ground. A slight dip may indicate the location of the larger enclosure. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 24 February 2014

• TS082-095001 Enclosure
  Description

  On a gentle NW-facing slope, just off the crest of a hill, in gently undulating terrain, under tillage. A small circular enclosure conjoined with a larger circular enclosure (TS082-095----) to the SW, both identified as cropmarks on aerial photographs (ASIAP (30) 32, 33, 3-8-1996). There is no visible trace of either enclosure above ground. Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 24 February 2014

• TS082-111 Barrow - mound barrow
  Description

  On the summit of a hill in undulating hilly terrain, in pasture, overlooking a fording point of the River Suir c. 500m to the WSW. There is a lot of limestone outcrop in the vicinity, particularly immediately NE of the mound. There are extensive views in all directions, except to the S which is limited by rising hills. Several mountain ranges are visible including the Comeraghs to the E, the Knockmealdowns to the S-SW and the Galtees to the NW. A cairn (TS075-064----) is visible on the summit of Bain Mountain in the Galtees. A roughly circular low grass-covered mound (diam. 36m N-S; 34.6m; H 0.3m in S, 0.86m in N and 2.1m in W over a very gradual slope) identified by Bob Withers. There is low contiguous kerbing (L 2m; stones av. 0.4m x 0.2m, H 0.12m) visible at the base of the mound in the NW sector and other stones at irregular intervals around the base. The summit has been quarried into, forming an entrance (Wth 4.6m) on the NE side, opening out to a roughly oval-shaped depression (diam. c. 25m) which extends westward and southward into the mound. The NW portion is obscured by thick brambles. There is a slightly deeper hollow (dims. at base of slope c. 19m N-S; 6.3m E-W) in the SE quadrant. There are two mature hawthorn trees (maybe c. 50 years old) within the hollow which provide a rough terminus post quem for the quarrying. Within the hollow there is a large flat boulder (dims. 2.93m x 1.9m; T 0.3-0.45m) and a number of smaller boulders, some of which are earthfast, immediately to the SE. The location and morphology of the mound, including kerbing, suggest that this is probably a prehistoric burial mound. See attached photographs: TS082-111----_01 Mound from the WSW TS082-111----_02 Mound from SW TS082-111----_03 Hollow from the NE TS082-111----_04 Boulders within hollow from E TS082-111----_05 Large flat boulder from N TS082-111----_06 Kerbing in NW sector Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 17 February 2021

Architectural heritage

• Rochestown House, country house, 1770–1890 · Regional interest
  Description

  Detached irregular-plan multi-period country house, comprising surviving south circuit of medieval bawn with square-plan tower house built c.1450 at south corner and on site of or possibly incorporating fabric from late-twelfth/early-thirteenth-century castle, and having eighteenth- and nineteenth-century additions. Tower house is four-storey with two-bay side elevations and has four-bay three-storey block of c.1750 added to north side, having slightly advanced west bay, with further two-storey block to west presenting one-bay to front elevation and two to rear, and with lower canted single-bay two-storey entrance link between these later blocks, link and west block being built c.1885. Link block echoed in rear elevation by angular one-bay three-storey block. Twelve-bay single-storey flat-roofed block to east side east block, running on north-east to south-west axis. Pitched slate roofs with stepped crenellations to tower house and simpler crenellations elsewhere. Lines of dripstones to south and east elevations of tower house, and moulded course to base of slightly projecting parapets of projecting part of main later block and to west block. Crowstep parapet to east elevation of four-bay block, simple crenellations to west end and stepped battlements to western block. Rubble limestone chimneystack to four-bay block, with brick quoins, brick and rendered elsewhere, with cast-iron rainwater goods. Single-storey block has parapet with sloping coping and stepped crenellations to centre and ends, with moulded string course to base of parapet. Coursed rubble and dressed limestone front elevation to four-bay block, rubble limestone to east elevation of tower house and rendered to other elevations, and snecked dressed limestone to front elevation of west block. Square-headed window openings, having render label-mouldings to south and west elevations of tower house and front and rear elevations of west end of four-bay block and of west block. Pointed single-light and double-light pointed windows to south and east elevations of tower house, with chamfered limestone surrounds, ogee-headed window and pointed window with hood-moulding to west elevation and slit window to east elevation. Chamfered limestone surrounds to east elevation and east end bays of front elevation of four-bay block, with timber sliding sash one-over-one pane windows, some double. Chamfered limestone surrounds to west block. Timber casement windows to east end of front elevations of blocks and metal casements elsewhere. Mullioned timber casement windows to single-storey block. Pointed arch entrance door opening with studded timber battened door and metal strap hinges. Ruined cylindrical keep of late twelfth/early thirteenth-century date, with semi-circular staircase annex to north-east of site. Rendered staircases to stepped gardens. Octagonal-profile rendered piers with decorative wrought-iron gates, and rendered and crenellated rubble limestone walls to site entrance.

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

At the centre of the townland of Rochestown, about 1 in 5 homes in this area is likely to have high radon levels. Testing a home

Landslides

The 1:50,000 map rates the landslide susceptibility here as moderately high, moderately low, low, partly inferred.

Terrain model

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

Flooding

The Office of Public Works publishes its flood maps on floodinfo.ie.

Radon Risk Map of Ireland, Environmental Protection Agency, and Landslide Susceptibility Classification, Geological Survey Ireland, both under 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.

• Rochestown, Cahir5 sales

Name

Rochestown · Baile an Róistigh

Area

2,557,479 m² (255.75 ha, 631.97 acres)

Civil parish

Rochestown, and its townlands

Barony

Iffa and Offa West

Electoral division

Derrygrath, the unit of the census

Census 2022

709 people lived in 244 households in the Derrygrath electoral division. 91% of households owned their home. 37% of homes were built since 2001. 6% of dwellings stood vacant on census night, and 1% were holiday homes.

Neighbouring townlands

Ballybrada, Ballyhickey, Carrigataha, Feemore, Garnavilla, Reechestown, Touloure

Placenames

Rochestown 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.