County: Tipperary Site name: ROSCREA CASTLE, Townparks
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: —
Author: Conleth Manning, Office of Public Works
Site type: Castle - Anglo-Norman masonry castle
Period/Dating: Late Medieval (AD 1100-AD 1599)
ITM: E 613347m, N 689236m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.953746, -7.801363
Minor preliminary excavations were carried out within the gatehouse of the castle in advance of conservation work. It was established that the present floor level, is at least 0.6m below the medieval ground floor level and three masonry slots for the weighted beams of the counterbalance drawbridge were identified beneath the blocking of the outer arch of the gateway. The flanking walls of the gate passage itself were removed in post-medieval times but traces of their foundations survived. A basement or dungeon was found on the west side of the gate passage and further excavation will be needed to clear this out.
