Introduction

Ormond Castle is situated on the edge of the former medieval town of Carrick-on-Suir, on the banks of the River Suir, in south Tipperary. Built mainly between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, it boasts Ireland’s only major unfortified dwelling from that tumultuous period. The castle’s significance also lies in the fact that it contains the finest examples of early decorative plasterwork in the country.

The castle is associated with the great Anglo-Norman Butler family, who first came to Ireland about the time that Lord John, future king of England, arrived in Waterford in 1185. The family came to prominence when James Butler (d. 1338) was created 1st earl of Ormond in 1328. Around 1315 his father, Edmund, had acquired the town of Carrick-on-Suir, then known as Carrickmacgriffin.

The medieval castle

The first Butler castle at Carrick-on-Suir was built in the early fourteenth century on the site of a Poor Clare convent in the south-eastern corner of the medieval town defences. It consisted of an enclosure, D-shaped in plan, without an internal keep. Some sections of the curtain wall, with its cross-shaped arrow loops, still survive, as well as a watergate that fronted directly onto the River Suir but which today is further removed from the river’s edge owing to receding waters. Although little remains of any other structures that sat within the enclosure, the shells of three medieval buildings can be seen on the west side of the lower yard, where it is believed that the great hall was once located.

During the later fifteenth century two tower-houses, both five storeys high, were constructed within the curtain wall of the existing castle (Fig. 2). The east tower (c. 1450) appears to have been built in two stages and has been extensively altered over the centuries. It is vaulted at ground-floor level, while the upper floors housed the principal living quarters. A mural staircase leads to a room on the fourth floor where two beautifully carved angels can be found on either side of the arch of a blocked-up opening (Fig. 3). The west tower, now ruinous, also had its windows remodelled.

Thomas Butler, 10th earl of Ormond

One of the most renowned members of the family was Thomas Butler, sometimes known as ‘Black Tom’, the 10th earl of Ormond. He was a very influential figure in Ireland throughout the second half of the sixteenth century. Thomas spent virtually his entire childhood at the English royal court, and was present at the coronation of Edward VI in 1546, the same year in which he succeeded to his titles and lands at the tender age of fifteen. This

Top: Fig. 2—View from within the original castle of the two towerhouses that formed the front of the castle prior to the construction of the Tudor house. Right: Fig. 3—Angel motif on the stone arched recess on the first floor of the eastern tower-house.