Reconstructing Ireland’s Castles: Archaeological Interpretation of Irish Tower-House Environs
Channel: The Ulster Archaeological Society
Date: 2021-12-07

Tower-houses are the lordly residence par excellence of Medieval Ireland. Instantly recognisable by their multi-storey, oblong format, they were the architectural expression of regional lordly authority, and the administrative centre of rural communities. Modern visitors to Ireland would be forgiven for assuming they are isolated structures scattered throughout the Irish countryside. The reality is they are part of a wider lordly complex including structures such as bawns, banqueting halls, and kitchens. Beyond the periphery of the bawn, there were features such as watermills, fish weirs/ponds, and even chapels, which contributed towards the domestic and economic functionality of the tower-house complex. Many of these features have sadly been lost to time. This presentation will examine the documentary, pictorial, and archaeological lifecycle of tower-houses from four Irish counties, in an attempt to ‘reconstruct’ the original medieval format of these sites, and occasionally, discover features that have otherwise been hidden or overlooked for centuries.

Dr Michael O'Mahony is a visiting scholar within the School of Natural and Built Environment, Queen's University Belfast.