15th-century castle goes on sale in Tipperary

The historic Ballyfinboy Castle in Borrisokane, Co Tipperary, has been put on the open market with a guide price of €200,000…

The historic Ballyfinboy Castle in Borrisokane, Co Tipperary, has been put on the open market with a guide price of €200,000.

Castletreve Developments, a local company, purchased the castle and the surrounding two acres last year. The castle, which is a listed building and stands on 2.5 acres, dates back to the late-15th century, and is thought to have been constructed on the banks of the Ballyfinboy river around 1480.

The first recorded mention of the castle relates to its capture under siege by the Earl of Essex in 1599. The owner at the time, one Philip Kennedy, was put to the sword and the castle damaged and rendered indefensible.

During the Cromwellian era, Ballyfinboy Castle was confiscated and granted to Sir Nicholas White, an adventurer from Co Kildare. In an 1840 survey, the castle is described as being "a ruin in a good state of preservation".

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The castle, a listed building, boasts a Sheila na Gig - a crude pagan carving of a female form with her limbs splayed, believed to depict fertility - carved on a stone in one corner of the building. There are only 13 examples of a Sheila na Gig in their original locations in the whole of Ireland, and experts believe the example at Ballyfinboy Castle is one of the better-preserved examples.

Overlooking the Ballyfinboy river, the castle is 1.5km (one mile) from the market town of Borrisokane, while the picturesque Lough Derg is only a short drive away. Owner Michael O'Brien said the property presents a unique opportunity for any buyer to acquire a piece of Irish history.

"It is a unique opportunity to purchase a historic property and would prove an interesting project to take on for any prospective buyer. The obvious way of preserving this historic monument would be to put it back into use."