Lickadoon Castle, Lickadoon, Co. Limerick

This square peel tower, measuring roughly 20 feet on each side externally, represents centuries of turbulent history in the region. The structure originally comprised five floors, though only the second floor remains intact today, with the three upper levels having long since succumbed to time and neglect. The castle's thick walls, measuring nearly nine feet in width, speak to its defensive purpose, whilst a spiral staircase contained within the eastern tower section once provided access to the building's upper reaches.

Historical records trace Lickadoon's significance back to 1336, when it was held by Bishop Maurice de Rupefort as a fortified settlement with a surrounding ditch. The castle changed hands numerous times throughout the medieval period, passing through the control of the de Bermingham family in 1351 and later the O'Hurly clan in the 16th century. The site gained particular notoriety as the birthplace of Dermod O'Hurly, who became the Archbishop of Cashel and was executed in Dublin in 1585. During the Tudor conquest of Ireland, the castle served as a garrison for Carew's forces in 1600, underlining its strategic importance in regional conflicts.

By the mid-17th century, Jordan Roche held the castle along with its bawn and a small settlement of twelve cabins. The property was subsequently granted to the Duke of York before being sold to Dr. Thomas Smith, Bishop of Limerick, in 1703. Early 19th-century surveys provide detailed measurements of the interior spaces; the main western portion measured approximately 23 feet by 16 feet internally, whilst the eastern tower containing the stairs measured 15½ feet by 7½ feet. Though the surviving ruins today are damaged and truncated, making definitive architectural classification challenging, sketches from the 1840 Ordnance Survey Letters preserve valuable visual records of this once-formidable fortification.