Why Was Nenagh Castle Built?
Channel: Love Ireland
Date: 2022-10-08

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Why was Nenagh Castle built?

Nenagh Castle was built as a fortress and to lay the foundation of the town of Nenagh in the 13th century,  The castle was built by Theobald FitzWalter, whose successors would become Earls and Dukes of Ormond and upon its completion c. 1220 it served as the main seat of the Butler family.

The keep of the castle formed part of the perimeter of the fortress being part of the curtain walls surrounding a five-sided courtyard. It is one of the finest cylindrical keep in Ireland.

The castle is a medieval building and has stone spiral stairs with 101 steps all the way to the top. A passageway within the base of the wall provides access to the tower. Be aware that there is very low head room and you will need to stoop to avoid hitting the stone above. 

The Castle has had extensive renovations from 2009 to completion in June 2013. Free admission and free guided tours are available on request.

About Nenagh

With a population of 7,995 Nenagh is the largest town in north Tipperary and is part of the historical Barony of Ormond Lower which was the traditional territory of the O’Kennedy’s prior to the Norman invasion. 

This land for the town was included in the grant made by King John of England to Theobald, eldest son of Hervey Walter of Lancashire, England and  Theobald was subsequently appointed Chief Butler of Ireland. In c1217,  Nenagh Castle was built as the main castle of the Butler family before they moved to Gowran, County Kilkenny later in the 14th century.

Nenagh is strategically situated on the banks of the Nenagh River. The Nenagh river flows and empties into Lough Derg at Dromineer (nine kilometres to the north-west).  Lough Derg is a popular centre for sailing and water sports. To the south of the town lies The Silvermines Mountain range with the highest peak Keeper Hill, at 694 metres.

Nenagh is easily accessible from the R445 regional road network which links it to the M7 providing high quality access to the cities of Limerick and Dublin.  The town is thus easily reachable by car or by bus.

 Nenagh Train Station sits on the main Limerick to Ballybrophy rail line and passengers can connect at Ballybrophy with trains heading north-east to Dublin or south-west to Cork. 

Also conveniently close is Shannon Airport, located approximately one hour from Nenagh; Dublin Airport two and a half hours and Cork Airport approximately two hours.

So there is no excuse, you should visit soon.

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