Askeaton Castle
The castle is alleged to have been founded by William Burgh (d.1206) as Es Geiphtíne
in 1199. This was after King Domhanall MacCarthy (d.1206) had
ravaged Munster in 1196, destroying the castles of Dun Cuireda, Cora,
Mag Ua Mairgili and Lismore as well as attacking William's castle of
Kilfeakle (between Tipperary and Cashal). Askeaton was certainly operational by 13 October 1203 when William went to Caen to meet King John. Prior to this he had pledged his castles of Kilfeakle and Askeaton (Hinneskesti)
to the king for his good behaviour. The king's justiciar, Meilor
Fitz Henry (d.1220) was to return the castles to William when the king
released him. The castle was seized by the Crown on William's
untimely death in 1206 until 5 July 1215 when King John ordered the castle of Askeaton (Askelou)
to be returned to Richard Burgh (d.1242), the son of William
(d.1206). The same day, 5 July 1215, the king recorded that
Richard Burgh had made a fine of 100m (£66 13s 4d) with him to
have the castle of Askelon.
Richard was to give Aumary Beaufo an exchange for the castle and the
king was to be quit of the exchange and security was to be given for
the fine. Therefore the justiciar of Ireland was to cause him to
have seisin
Richard Burgh died in Gascony about 17 February, 1242. With this
Askeaton castle was seized once again by the Crown. At this time
Richard's heir, Walter Burgh (d.1271) was about 12. Consequently
the Crown handed out the fortress to other parties. On 3 November
1249, it was recorded that:
Earl Richard Clare of
Gloucester and Hertford (d.1262), having given surety for William le
Gros, to whom the justiciar of Ireland had committed his castle of Asferkerlon,
that he should faithfully serve the king and stand trial in the king's
court, if any should charge him, mandate to Justiciar John Gray to
cause William to have seisin of the castle.
William le Gros died childless after 1249 and the castle somehow passed
to Thomas Clare (d.1287) the second son of Earl Richard Clare (d.1262)
and favourite of King Edward I (1272-1307). He was lord of Bunratty
and husband of Juliana Fitz Maurice, the granddaughter of Justiciar
Maurice Fitz Gerald (d.1257). In 1318, on the death of Richard
Clare, the son of Thomas (d.1287), the castle was granted by Edward II
(1307-27) to Robert Welles (1295-1320), the second husband of Matilda
(d.1327), the eldest daughter of Thomas Clare (d.1287).
Presumably the castle had previously been held by Matilda's first
husband, Robert Clifford, who was killed at the battle of Bannockburn
on 24 June 1314. Robert Welles left no heir in 1320, but his
brother, Adam, who died in 1345, left an underage son, John Welles
(d.1361). By 1348 the castle was held by Earl Maurice Fitz
Thomas of Desmond (d.1356) and then passed down that family line.
In 1579 William Pelham (d.1587) ordered Earl Thomas Butler of Ormond to
besiege Askeaton castle as he was not strong enough to attack it.
Returning in 1580, Pelham attacked and took Carrigafoyle castle on 27
March, slaughtering the entire garrison after a 2 day siege. With
this the garrison of Askeaton promptly surrendered in terror of their
lives and the castle was given to the Berkeleys. In 1599 the
castle was besieged for 247 days by the earl of Desmond, but relieved
by the earl of Essex (d.1601). The castle was taken again by the
Catholics in 1642, but was taken and slighted by Captain Daniel Axtell
acting under Cromwell 10 years later. The garrison commander,
Patrick Purcell was then executed by hanging. The castle later
had an afterlife as the Irish headquarters of the Hellfire Club from
about 1740 to 1800.

Description
Askeaton castle is set in the middle of the River Deel protecting a
bridge which now allows access to the site. The castle would
appear to have been planned as a concentric structure from the
first. On an inner rock, some 130' N-S and 80' E-W stands a
polygonal ringwork with 2 garderobes on the south end of the west
wall. There are also traces of a ditch around the rock to the
east. These defences are fragmentary and much of the NE of this
site has been damaged by quarrying. In the NE corner stood a
possibly thirteenth or fourteenth century tower house, known as the
Desmond Tower. This lies on top of the inner curtain to the west
and had an attached hall to the south. Some of the windows in the
tower are shoulder headed and similar to others found at Caernarfon and Cerreg Cennen
in Wales. There appears to have been no access from the curtains
to the tower. Of the early, lower part of the hall to the south,
2 early loops survive to the west. The two lower floors are
vaulted. The two later storeys above this are built in a
sumptuous style and still retain a fine chimney to the west. A
latrine block to the west of the tower still stands to full
height. Note the interesting corbelled out projections between
this and the tower. At the south end of the enclosure was an
internal rectangular tower possibly added in the fifteenth century and
known as the Constable's Tower. This has fireplaces at its two
surviving levels as well as a garderobe. Presumably the constable
lived here as there was no room for a constable's chamber above the
diminutive gatehouse. The entrance was to the east and consisted
of two rectangular thickenings of the curtain wall containing a gate
and a portcullis. Not enough remains to suggest if there was a
drawbridge, but this seems likely.
The outer ward was built directly above the river, but now only the
north wall and a fragment of the west side survives, although there
appears to be a single fragment built into the wall of the eighteenth
century club house to the east. On the west side is a hall-like
structure running E-W which may be an early chapel converted into a
solar. This has been built into by a fifteenth century first
floor hall which appears to have been connected to the inner ward via a
bridge. This has a vaulted ground floor and impressive windows in
the aisled hall above. A stair turret overhangs the river while
the curiously poor junction between the curtain and the hall block to
the north suggests
that these date from very different building phases, as too does the
fact that this curtain was pierced by a series of rectangular gun loops.
A seventeenth century print of the site shows that there was also a
rectangular tower in the east side of the inner ward which was the
destination of the bridge from the outer hall block. This also
shows that the rest of the outer enceinte did not seem to be seriously
fortified.
Why not join me at Askeaton
and other Irish castles this October? Please see the
information on tours at Scholarly
Sojourns.
Copyright©2018
Paul Martin Remfry