It now belongs to Lord Barrymore.
A member of the Wakeham family informs me that it was in possession of her ancestors several centuries ago, and that the Lord Barrymore of that day gave the owners, John and William Wakeham, the estates of Springhill and Water-rock instead of it, which their descendants still possess.
| Authorities Consulted. |
| Gibson’s “History of Cork.” |
| Carew MSS. |
| Patent and Close Rolls, Chancery, Ireland. |
| State Papers. |
| “Local Names” and “Notes and Queries” in Journal of Cork Archæological Society. |
BIRR CASTLE
“Lords to whom great men submit,
Are the O’Carrolls of the plain of Birr.”
O’Heerin.
This fortress was one of the numerous strongholds of the O’Carrolls of Ely O’Carroll. The derivation of the name, formerly Biorra, is doubtful. Bir signifies “water,” birra = “abounding in wells,” or “fountains of water,” bir = “a spit,” bior = “the brink of a river,” and the name may have originated from any of these words.
The town is situated on the right bank of the Little Brosna River at its juncture with the Birr rivulet. It is in the barony of Ballybrit, King’s County, sixty-two and a half miles west-south-west of Dublin.
The O’Carroll’s stronghold, called the “Black Castle,” stood some sixty yards north-west of the present building on the high bank of the river. The principal tower was raised on an artificial mound, and in 1627 Sir Laurence Parsons added a watch tower, which stood on thirteen corbels, projecting on the outside, and was higher than all the other buildings. The dungeon of the stronghold was situated in the Black Castle, but this older fortress has long since been demolished.
In 1620-21 Sir Laurence Parsons made a great many additions to the castle. He erected a tower 46 feet long and 25 feet broad, at each end of which an arch of hewn stone gave entrance to the fortress. The present hall, which is reached by a flight of stone steps under a vaulted vestibule, is the centre part of this tower, as it is also that of the present mansion.