Lisnacullia Castle

Lisnacullia Castle lies in the townland of the same name, in County Limerick, in Ireland.

Lisnacullia Castle is said to have been built by the MacSheehys c. 1460-80, based on architectural evidence. The MacSheehys were hereditary gallowglasses (a term meaning 'foreign warriors') who were settled in this area by the Earl of Desmond. The castle was confiscated after the 1579 Desmond rebellion and given to Thomas Caune. In 1620, it went to Donogh O'Brian, and n 1655 it was held by Sir Edmund Fitzgerald.

It was built on am outcrop of rock, near a small stream. This was apparently a site formerly occupied by an ancient enclosure, called 'Fort of the Wood'. It consists of a rectangular tower house with a slender, and higher, turret on its east corner. Connected to it, to the southeast, was an irregular bawn.

At present, Lisnacullia Castle is situated on a private farmyard and can not be visited. The farmer kindly let me take some pictures from outside because the ruin itself was not accessible.

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