Athlumney Castle

Map Reference: N877674 (2877, 2674)

This is a 15th century tower-house with four storeys plus attic. There are projecting corner towers. The castle has a barrel vault above the ground floor and access to this level is through a modern doorway in the S wall. The original entrance was in the W wall and was protected by a murder-hole leading from a small room below the first floor level.



Access to the upper floors is by a spiral stairway in the NW corner. There is a gallery in the N wall at the upper level of the vault. There is a fireplace at the first floor and a garderobe at the SE corner. A mural stairway in the S wall leads down to the small room from which the murder-hole leads. A mulit-gabled three-storey house is attached at the S and W. It is four bays long with fine mullioned windows and probably dates from the early 17th century. The large fireplace in the S wall is flanked by ovens and there is another oven near the N wall. A projection in the W wall near the S end housed the stairs.



There is an oriel window in the S wall at the first and second floors. The doorway in the E wall has pecked decoration and a small carved knot. The castle ws burned in 1649 by the Maguires to prevent its capture by Cromwell and again in 1690 after the Battle of the Boyne to deny William of Orange.




For more photos of Athlumney Castle click HERE