Loghill Ho, Loghill, Co. Limerick

Co. Limerick |

Masonry Castles

Loghill Ho, Loghill, Co. Limerick

The castle of Loghill has a rather fragmented history, with records showing it was 'wasted' during the wars of 1302, though a castle bearing the same name still existed in the late 16th or early 17th century according to historical accounts from Westropp in 1906-7.

The mid-17th century Down Survey map provides a valuable clue to its location, placing the castle on the eastern side of Loghill inlet, roughly where Loghill House would later stand. This positioning suggests a strategic placement overlooking the water, typical of defensive structures of the period.

By the 19th century, the castle had met an inglorious end. Lewis's 1837 account tells us that a Mr Hewson, who resided at Ouvane Cottage (which later became Loghill House), dismantled the castle and repurposed its stones to build a garden wall; a practical if somewhat melancholic fate for a medieval fortification. This act of architectural recycling was common during the period, when old castles were often viewed more as convenient quarries than historical monuments worth preserving.

Today, little remains of either the castle or its successor buildings. Loghill House and its walled garden, possibly incorporating those recycled castle stones, have themselves been recently demolished. The only surviving trace is a modest stretch of walling along the shoreline, measuring about five metres long, two metres high and half a metre thick, though this is unlikely to be part of the original castle structure. It serves as a quiet reminder of the layers of history that have occupied this spot on the Limerick coast, each generation building upon and sometimes literally from the ruins of the last.

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