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Carrigafoyle Castle C15th.

Anglo Norman

Carrigafoyle Tower House / Castle / Bawn is situated on the Kerry side of the river Shannon and like Cathair Geal stone fort ( Bronze / Iron age ) has a Commanding position of both the river Shannon passage to the City of Limerick and the mostly flat, fertile lands around it. It was built by the Ó Connor clan for the purpose of gaining  free passage " Taxes "  i.e. confiscating part of a ships cargo as payment for the right to proceed unhindered up to the City. It is a style of Tower common for this period throughout Ireland. It rises to a height of about 26 mts. and had 5 stories giving it and its many counterparts around the Irish countryside an imposing and dominant feel. This of course was borrowed from our Norman " invaders ".

 The River Shannon enters the Atlantic Ocean between the Counties of both Kerry and Clare having and it is still used today both as a gateway to the port of Limerick and as a recreational resource for pleasure craft and cruising. Carraigafoile Castle was the seat of power for the Ó Connor- Kerry Clan / Extended Family, a Defensive fortification, ( before the use of the musket and cannon ), and as a collection point for " Free Passage " Taxes " for shipping on its way to the Port of Limerick. This collection of " tarrifs " continued up to the C16th.

 Exterior:-The facade consists of  rectangular Limestone and Lime Mortared walls the rear of which are sitting in water while its entrance is on dry land, and at one time Fortified with a BAWN ,( protective encircling wall with round towers ), enclosing a strip of ground / court yard as an added defensive measure. An outer wall with Guard posts completed the defenses on three sides only a part of which can be seen today and incorporated a  windowless Armory. This system made it an easy task in defending the Castle / Tower, and this is also evident in the style of the windows / Lights.

The windows / Lights illustrate the differences in Function of these essential but possibly weakest part of the Defences. On the lower Stories the lights are tall and narrow making them safe for a defender from arrows and / or lances, but the higher you go the more Decorative in appearance they become, added to which is the inclusion of Gothic Style decoration i.e. the Trefoil style / Leaf decoration carved from Limestone and the OGIE headed lights which can be found in any Abbey from this time, ( e.g. Muckross, Ardfert etc.). They would also have had the luxury of Leaded windows which would have helped in making life easier, warmer and altogether more bearable, ( thanks in no small measure to the earlier Romans ).

The roof was constructed in the style with which we have become accustomed to today i.e. timber Rafters which is then covered with Slate tiles. The Rafters rested on decorative Stone supports, which are Cantileverd, ( Project out ), from the top floor.They are built of stone and would have helped to draw off any rainwater from the roof and kept the vertical walls dry. The relative lightness of the roof and utilisation of the New Gothic style ARCH, ( Pointed ), allowed the building of a large open comunal space which was the centre of daily life in these buildings.