Bawn, Coolnamuck Demesne, Co. Waterford

Co. Waterford |

Castle Features

Bawn, Coolnamuck Demesne, Co. Waterford

The tower house at Coolnamuck Demesne stands within the remains of a square bawn, measuring 54 metres on each side.

These defensive stone walls vary dramatically in height; on the southern side they're barely half a metre tall, whilst on the eastern edge they rise to an imposing four metres, taking advantage of a natural ravine that provided additional protection. The northern wall has completely disappeared over the centuries, leaving that side of the enclosure open.

Two circular towers once guarded the northern corners of the bawn, though they've fared quite differently through time. The northeastern tower has been reduced to little more than its foundations, with an external diameter of 4.8 metres marking where it once stood. Its northwestern counterpart has survived in better condition, standing two storeys high at four metres. This tower, with its external diameter of 4.3 metres and internal space of 2.63 metres, can still be entered through its original pointed doorway at ground level. Defensive musket loops pierce the walls; four at ground level and at least two more on the first floor, though curiously there's no surviving evidence of any stairs that would have connected the two levels.

Just outside the southeastern corner of the bawn, Toberavalla Well has found a second life as a pumphouse. This fortified complex, documented by Michael Moore in October 2010, represents a typical example of the defensive architecture that once dotted the Irish countryside, where tower houses and their protective bawns served as both homes and fortresses for local families during more turbulent times.

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