Ormond Castle

Ormond Castle, sometimes also spelled as Ormonde or known as Carrick Castle, lies in the town of Carrick-on-Suir, in County Tipperary, in Ireland.

A castle in Carrick was first mentioned in 1315, when it was granted to Edmund Butler, the newly created Earl of Carrick, by Edward II, King of England. By that time it was ruined, so it was built before, maybe by the Wall family in the first decade of the 14th century. It was first mentioned as again being inhabited in 1366.

That first castle consisted of a D-shaped bawn, situated on the left bank of a bend in the Suir River, just outside the town walls of Carrick. Later, during the 15th century, 2 large towers were built on the north corners of the bawn.

During the 1560s, the 10th Earl of Ormond, Thomas Butler, a courtier of Elizabeth I, had a Tudor manor house built against the north wall of the medieval castle. It was the first of its kind in Ireland and was intended to honor his distant cousin Elizabeth, with whom he had grown up together. It was also to provide her with a suitable palace at which to stay when she travelled to Ireland. Although she planned to visit twice, Elizabeth never did. Apparently Thomas' admiration of Elizabeth I was so great that his wife, Elizabeth Berkely, left him over it.

Ormond Castle was surrendered to Cromwellian forces in 1649, after resisting for just one day after the town had been taken. Shortly afterward, James Butler, Marquess of Ormond, made an unsuccessful attempt to take it back. The castle was then granted to a Sir John Reynolds, but in the 1660s was restored to James. After James' death in 1688 the Butlers abandoned the castle and gave it over to caretakers.

The castle continued to be a Butler possession until the mid-20th century, when it was given over to the Irish State.

At present, Ormond Castle is a museum and can be visited for a fee from April to November. A very nice combination of a medieval castle with a manor house. Recommended.

Gallery