Clomantagh Castle

Clomantagh Castle is a 15th-century tower house located near Freshford, County Kilkenny, in Ireland. Originally constructed in the 1430s,[1] additional buildings and outbuildings were added in the subsequent centuries - including a connected 19th century farmhouse.[2] Carvings on the castle's walls include a Sheela na gig relief (a symbolic pagan nude).[3][4]

Clomantagh (or Croomantagh) Castle
Sheela na gig relief at Clomantagh

Situated on lands owned by the Earls of Ormond, on the death of Pierce 'Ruadh' Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond in 1539, the castle was inherited by his son, Richard Butler, 1st Viscount Mountgarret.[5] It remained in the hands of the Butlers of Mountgarret through the 16th and 17th centuries, until its confiscation following the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.[5]

The castle was subject to renovations in the late 20th century (which received an award from the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland),[6][7] and is now managed as a holiday rental property by the Irish Landmark Trust.[8]

References
  1. "Clomantagh Castle, Freshford, Co Kilkenny" (PDF). irishlandmark.com. Irish Landmark Trust. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  2. "Clomantagh, County Kilkenny". buildingsofireland.ie. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  3. "Clomantagh Castle". discoverireland.com. Discover Ireland. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  4. Barbara Freitag (2005). Sheela-na-gigs: Unravelling an Enigma (PDF). Routledge. p. 134. ISBN 0-415-34553-7.
  5. "Clomantagh Castle". britainirelandcastles.com. Castles of Great Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  6. "Winners range from 'creative' urban infill to castle restoration". Irish Times. 29 June 2000. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  7. Irish Architectural Review. 2. Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland. 2000. ISBN 9780946846542. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  8. "Irish Landmark Trust celebrates 25 years saving buildings". Irish Times. 24 June 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2018.

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