Cardinal Rinuncini must have been much impressed by the beauty of the spot, as later he had scenes of the siege painted on the walls of his Italian palace.
After some weeks a dam about half a mile from the castle was captured, but only held a few hours when deserted by its guards, who were hanged for the offence.
Two pieces of cannon were then directed upon a small outlying castle, and at the end of two days’ firing Colonel Adams repaired to the place to see if it could be held any longer. A chance shot at the upper window mortally wounded him, and being carried out he died that night.
When Muskerry heard this he decided to attack in force, “knowing how much discouraged they were at the loss of so valiant a person.”
The Irish gradually gained position, and at length the garrison capitulated for their lives, and the officers their swords, and returned to Cork by water. This was in 1646.
In 1712 Henry, 8th Earl of Thomond, disposed of his estate, and the castle passed to the Studdert family, who lived there until the neighbouring mansion was built.
For some years afterwards it was partly used for a police barrack, and now it is in the hands of a caretaker.
| Authorities Consulted. |
| MS. Ordnance Survey. |
| Frost, “History of the County Clare.” |
| White, “History of Clare.” |
| O’Donoghue, “Memoirs of the O’Briens.” |
| B. Adams and M. Adams, “History of the Adams Family.” |
| Murphy, “Cromwell in Ireland.” |
| Dwyer, “Diocese of Killaloe.” |
| Joyce, “Irish Names of Places.” |
| Gilbert, “Affairs in Ireland, 1641-52” (Apporismical Discovery of Treasonable Faction). |
| Gilbert, “History of the Irish Confederation by Richard Bellings.” |
| Parliamentary Gazetteer. |
| State Documents. |
| State Papers. |
| Proceedings of Royal Society of Antiquaries, Ireland. |
| Westropp, “Normans in Thomond;” Macnamara, “Inchiquin, Co. Clare;” Shirley and O’Brien, “Extracts from the Journal of Thomas Dineley,” all in Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries, Ireland. |
| Westropp, “On the Churches of County Clare,” in Proceedings of R.I.A. |
| “Bunratty,” Dublin Saturday Magazine. |