Crumbly Old Ruins – Bogwarrior.com

Yet again, my talent for visiting heritage sites under scaffolding does not disappoint

Ormond Castle in Carrick-on-Suir is a little bit different to your usual castle visit. For starters, the site isn’t obviously a castle. What catches the eye aren’t the ruins of the castle which are there, but the Elizabethan Tudor manor house built onto it. As we know, Tudor manor houses aren’t all that common in Ireland. This one could’ve been soo much more Elizabethan if only Queen Elizabeth I (i.e. Ms Elizabethan herself) had bothered to come and visit.

Anyway, let’s go back a bit in time. A castle was first built on the site in the fourteenth century. At the time it was very close to the River Suir (as depicted in a rather nice model that’s on display in the visitor centre) and was strategically important. It was originally owned by the Wall family but was given to the powerful Butler Family. James Butler would later become the first Earl of Ormond. The Butler family, incidentally, also owned Kilkenny Castle for many centuries.

Model depicting the castle and the river

Over 200 years later, Thomas Butler, the Tenth Earl of Ormond built the Tudor manor house onto the castle. Black Tom, as he was also known, was a cousin of Queen Elizabeth I through her mother Anne Boleyn. He became close friends with Elizabeth. So close, in fact, that there were rumours they were more than good friends. Elizabeth was known to refer to him as her “Black husband”.

Photo from Heritage Ireland website — The Long Gallery (photo not mine)

Thomas invited Elizabeth to come visit him in Ireland and she accepted the invitation. In 1565 he built the manor house here, in preparation for her visit. As an Elizabethan-style house, it had larger windows, brick chimneys and a layout different to traditional Irish buildings. It has a beautiful long hall that has some pretty amazing stucco plasterwork on the walls and ceiling.

Sideways view of the model, showing how the manor house was built onto the castle

Disappointingly for Tom, Elizabeth was long on promises but short on action. She never did get around to visiting the manor house he had built for her.

“She had promised to visit when her Irish wars were won”

In 1588 Thomas became a Knight of the Garter and in 1597 he became Lieutenant General of Ireland in 1597. He also found the time to get married 3 times and fathered at least 16 children (4 inside the marriages, 12 elsewhere). When he died in 1614, his illegitimate son Piers FitzThomas Butler of Duiske benefited most from his will. This led to rumours that Piers might’ve been a child he’d had with Elizabeth.

Over time the financial clout and power of the Butler family diminished. The house was abandoned in the late 17th century and fell into ruin. The Butlers handed the site over to the Irish state in 1947

The castle and manor house have undergone significant restoration since then. In recent years the manor house was plastered over again. If you do a google image search, you can see plenty of photos of the manor house with its stonework exposed.

Even if Elizabeth couldn’t be bothered coming to visit, it is worth a trip if you fancy looking at something that isn’t yet another castle. There are some remnants of the castle on the site, including the tower house. The guided tour didn’t bring us in there but perhaps that may change in the future. There’s also a short film on the history of the castle and a museum with some interesting bits and bobs

Getting There

The castle closes over the winter time, so check Heritage Ireland’s website before planning your visit. As of 2024 its season is running from March-November. More details here

The castle is accessed through the park you can see on Google Streetview. Carrick on Suir is a busy town so you may not find parking right beside the castle. Astonishingly, the payment machine in the nearby council-run New Street Car Park didn’t offer a contactless card payment option. If you don’t have enough coins to hand (luckily we did) then you’re required to download an app and pre-load it with credit. That’s fine if you park in Co. Tipperary on a regular basis. If you’re on a one-time visitor then it’s daylight robbery.

When driving during the week, I noticed a signpost for the tiny hamlet of Ahenny, Co. Tipperary. The sun was shining, I had time on my hands. And so, I took a detour to revisit the two high crosses which stand in the local cemetery. I last visited the site in March 2014 and it all looks rather bleak really. A July evening is much more forgiving, though the roads to the cemetery are still as hair-raising as ever 😀

The two high crosses stand in Kilclispeen cemetery and are all that remains of a monastery which once stood here. Nothing appears to be known about the monastery which once stood on this site, apart from it possibly being attributed to someone called St. Crispin.

The two high crosses here are believed to be amongst the oldest in Ireland. Depending on what sources you read, they date from the 8th or 9th century. The interesting thing about these early high crosses is that they’re replicas of the original wood and metal crosses that would have been on the site. So as well as the usual decorative carvings, they replicate the rope and metal that would have bound the original crosses. Also visible on the front of these crosses are versions of the enamel or metal studs which would have decorated them. It is thought that the stone high crosses are larger versions of the original wooden ones which would have been in the monasteries originally. Of course, nobody can say for sure.

Once inside the cemetery, it’s easy to spot the two high crosses. They stand reasonably near each other in the centre of the cemetery without any other crosses near them. They’re both carved out of sandstone and stand over 3 metres in height. Although both have weathered, there is still a lot of detail to be seen on the crosses.

The two high crosses in Ahenny — The South and North Crosses

The North Cross is the smaller of the two. An unusual feature of this cross is that it has a capstone on the top. These don’t appear on many high crosses in Ireland. There are varying theories as to what it is and why it’s there. One suggestion is that it’s a replica of a Bishop’s Mitre whilst another archaeologist thinks it may not be an original feature at all. Apparently, it is removable but I certainly wasn’t going to test that out. Standing beside this cross, I didn’t even reach the arms. The cross is decorated with various patterns. Spirals, interlocking squares and even the odd animal’s head are the order of the day. On the base is what appears to be biblical scenes and the twelve apostles but it’s difficult to make out. It is a pity that it is missing one of its circular parts but it is still a fine cross.

The North Cross in Ahenny — The North Cross

The South Cross doesn’t have the same conical cap as its compatriot but still, it is somewhat distinctive. Again, it is decorated with interlocking patterns, spirals, and Celtic style knotwork. The base of the cross is more badly worn than that of the North Cross.

The two Ahenny High Crosses are part of the Ossory group of high crosses. I plan to visit the other three that are part of this group. The two in Kilkieran and the high cross in Killamery.

I previously blogged about the century-old Plaster of Paris high cross replicas which went on display in Dublin. The mould makers chose the Ahenny high crosses as part of their original exhibition over a century ago. More recently, replicas of these two high crosses have found their way into Kilkenny’s Medieval Mile museum