Monday, August 7, 2023

Halla Mór in Newcastle West castle

 

Halla Mór in Newcastle West castle

Niall C.E.J. O’Brien

 

A large castle complex at Newcastle, Co. Limerick, in post medieval times generally referred to as Newcastle West, was one of the two great castles in County Limerick belonging to the Earl of Desmond, that at Askeaton being the other. The castle enclosure is divided between public (one third) and private ownership (two thirds). This, along with the reduction and removal of many of the enclosure walls, and the many of the buildings within the castle yards, makes it difficult to see the full castle at the height of its glory. A large two storey building, with a roof and windows, within the yard, known as the Banqueting hall, gives its name to the official name of the site, the Desmond Banqueting Hall.[1] Also in the castle yard is another banqueting hall without any roof or glass in its bare windows and this building is usually called Halla Mór.


North wall of Halla Mor


Connello sub-infeudation

In medieval times Newcastle was sometimes known as the castle in Connello or the castle of Connello as this was the pre-Norman name for the western area of County Limerick in which the castle is situated and in Norman times was formed into the four cantreds for administration purposes. The two eastern cantreds of Rathkeale/Askeaton and Bruree were created from the Uí Chinn Fháelad section of the Uí Chonaill dynasty that was allied to the Thomond part of pre-Norman Munster under the O’Brien family.[2] In 1199 King John granted these cantreds to Hamo de Valognes.[3] The western half of Uí Chonaill was held by the Uí Chuilein part of the dynasty and was allied to the Desmond part of Munster under the MacCarthy family. This area formed the two cantreds of Shanid (in the north) and Killeedy (in the south) in Norman times.[4]

In 1177, when King Henry II divided the territory/kingdom of Desmond between Robert Fitz Stephen and Milo de Cogan the western half of Uí Chonaill was included in this carve up of Irish territory because it was previously part of Desmond, which means South Munster, just as Thomond means North Munster. In 1178 Fitz Stephen and de Cogan shared out the seven cantreds of Desmond that were by that time under Norman control or accessible to Norman influence. Thus De Cogan got Kenalbek, Obathan and the two Kenaleths in what is now the area from Ballinaboy to Rosscarbery along the Cork coast. Fitz Stephen got the larger area of Omakille (Imokilly), Olethan (Barrymore & Kinnatalloon) and Fermoy (Fermoy along with Condons & Clangibbon) in east Cork as the Normans control was more secure the further east you went. By the time Fitz Stephen died in 1183 the Normans had laid claim to the Buttevant/Charleville area of north Cork, known as Muscridonegan, and western Ui Chonaill but they didn’t fully control the area. Before he died Fitz Stephen granted Killeedy and Muscridonegan to his nephew Philip de Barry as Fitz Stephen had no legitimate children of his own.[5] In 1207 King John confirmed Olethan, Muscridonegan and Killeedy to William Fitz Philip de Barry, son of Philip de Barry, for the service of ten knight fees.[6] 

It is possible that Philip de Barry built a number of motte and bailey castles in Killeedy at Mahoonagh and Killeedy as he established military control over the area.[7] These castles could also have been built by Philip de Prendergast who was granted southern Killeedy by Philip de Barry to make settlement effective.[8] It is also possible that these mottes and that at Shanid in the northern half of Killeedy were built by William de Burgh who was granted the area in sections by the de Barry and Prendergast families. Sometime between 1185 and 1190 Simon le Poher, the second husband of Margaret de Cogan, daughter and heiress of Milo de Cogan enfeoffed William de Burgh of the two cantreds of Altry and Acumys in north Kerry. These two cantreds bordered those of Killeedy and Shanid. Later Richard de Burgh, son of William, married a daughter of Richard de Carew, heir of FitzStephen’s half of Desmond.. it would appear that William de Burgh arrived in Ireland in the 1190s to make effective his enfeoffments.[9] In 1199-1205 William de Burgh granted land in Shanagolden near Shanid to Glastonbury Abbey and a tuath in Killeedy to William le Petit.[10] William de Burgh (died 1204) was a powerful lord with interests in various parts of Ireland. In the County of Munster he held lands at Kilfeale, Clonmel, Tibberaghny, Kilsheelan, Castleconnell, Ardpatrick and Fontymykill.[11] As son-in-law of Donnell O’Brien, King of Thomond, William de Burgh was seen by Prendergast and Barry as a good man to effective permanent settlement in western Uí Chonaill. His grandson, Walter de Burgh, became first Earl of Ulster of the de Burgh family.[12]

In 1199 Richard de Carew died as heir of the lordship of FitzStephen’s half of Desmond, leaving a son, Robert de Carew, aged about 4 years. In 1216 Robert de Carew took seisin of his father’s lordship but by then the government had transferred Killeedy and Shanid into the new County of Munster.[13] Later on the County of Munster was divided into the Counties of Tipperary and Limerick thus western Uí Chonaill is today in modern County Limerick instead of in County Cork.


South wall of Halla Mor


The manor of Connello (O’Conyll) was granted before 1213/4 to Thomas Fitz Maurice.[14] He may have constructed the first castle at Newcastle or adopted an existing structure as it is difficult to call something new unless there was an old castle nearby to compare it with. It was possibly called Newcastle if we take the old castle to be the motte and bailey castle at Mahoonagh. Thomas Fitz Maurice was a follower of William de Burgh and seems to have acquired a grant of Shanid and Killeedy from William de Burgh.[15] In the second quarter of the 13th century John Fitz Thomas, son of Thomas Fitz Maurice, held the two cantreds of western Uí Chonaill for four services. It appears that William de Burgh held Killeedy from Prendergast and Newcastle from the Barrys as did John Fitz Thomas in his time.[16] The triangular shape of the first stone castle at Newcastle West with its angular corners and no round towers reminds one of a small group of Norman castles in County Cork that have angular corners with no round towers like Ballincollig, Kilmaclenine and Mogeely.[17] The latter castle was within the de Barry cantred of Olethan. Thus the builder of Newcastle West was possibly in communication with the de Barry family on what type of castle they would like on their estate.

The presentation above of the many possible builders of Newcastle castle; namely, Philip de Barry (1180s), William de Burgh (1190s), William de Barry (1207) and Thomas Fitz Maurice (pre1213) is because archaeology of the castle, and the surrounding motte castles, has not being sufficiently carried out, or not occurred at all, such that not date line can be constructed. Documentary sources for the period don’t give any clear date line also and only started referring to the castle at Newcastle from the second half of the thirteenth century onwards.  


East Gable of Halla Mor


Newcastle parish

By the end of the thirteenth century, such as in 1298, the parish in which Newcastle was located was called Newcastle but this cannot be its original name.[18] Folklore from at least the early nineteenth century said that the area around Newcastle was once held by the Knights Templar as in the 1st Ordnance Survey map in 1840 calls the castle, the Templar’s castle. There is no medieval evidence that the Templar’s had any connection with Newcastle. It is suggested that the Templar idea was a misinterpretation of the Irish word, teampul, which is one of many words for a church.[19] About a kilometre south of the castle, on the road to Ardagh, is a place known as Churchtown where a medieval church stands in ruins in the cemetery. This place is also called Ballintemple and was possibly the name of the parish before sometime in the mid 13th century that the named changed to Newcastle. A survey of the property and parishes owned or attached to the Bishop of Limerick in 1200-1 mentions a number of parishes surrounding Newcastle such as Cluenclaidmech (Mahoonagh), Kellite (Killeedy), Ardachad (Ardagh) and Magmor (Moymore in Athea) but unfortunately not Ballintemple or Newcastle.[20] In 1777 the parishioners of Newcastle asked to relocate their parish church from Churchtown to new church within the town. This new church was built north of the Desmond Hall (banqueting hall) and south of the town square. The church was dedicated to St. Thomas. Owing to the decline in the protestant population in the twentieth century the church fell into disrepair and in 1962 was demolished leaving only the outline of its foundation walls to be seen today. A mounted bronze figure of Gearóid Iarla Fitzgerald, the 3rd Earl of Desmond and celebrated poet, stands within the former church site.[21]

Newcastle manor

In 1282 the jurors of Limerick said that John Fitz Thomas held the cantred of Aylly (Killeedy) of John de Barry by the service of two knights and that in 1261 was worth £200 but by 1282 was only worth £100.[22] In March 1298 the manor of Novo Castro (Newcastle) was worth £98 17s 5d. At that time the castle was worth nothing inside and outside the walls because greater sums were expended in repairs and maintenance than could be earn from castle rents.[23] In April 1300 the manor of Newcastle was worth £98 17s 5d while the manor of Kilyde (Kileedy) was worth £20 15s a year.[24] In 1302 the town around the castle was attacked and the church was burnt.[25] In 1315 the town was burnt again, this time by the Irish, as part of the invasion of Ireland by Edward Bruce.[26] 

Halla Mor on right from Desmond Hall



Building the Halla Mór

The Halla Mór was built sometime in the second half of the thirteenth century when the castle curtain walls of Newcastle were moved to the east and to the west.[27] This changed the layout of the castle from a triangular castle to a rectangular castle with the long side along by the river. As the cantred of Killeedy had declined in value between 1261 and 1282 the expansion of the castle possibly took place after 1282 when Thomas Fitz Maurice Fitzgerald and before 1298. The Halla Mór is likely to be one of the works built at the castle as part of its expansion under Thomas Fitzgerald.[28] The area to the west of the Halla Mór accommodated a new domestic range and defensive towers. This area was further extended at a later time, maybe 15th or 16th century to allow for more domestic buildings. To the extended area to the east of the Halla Mór allowed for service buildings such as a possible kitchen behind the present visitors centre. Round towers were also constructed at the corners of the new east curtain wall.

The expansion of the castle extent and the building of the Halla Mór marked a new departure for the castle at Newcastle. It elevated the castle from a mere defensive structure, guarding the crossing of the Arra River, to an administration centre of importance in the cantred of Killeedy, the caput of Killeedy. The hall was used not just for feasting but also when matters relating to the administration of Newcastle manor were conducted. The hall possibly also functioned as the court for the cantred of Killeedy.[29] When the chapel in the north-east of the castle yard was converted into an upstairs banqueting hall in the 15th century, the administration functions of the Halla Mór possibly continued to be held there rather than in the new banqueting hall.


View inside of south wall of Halla Mor, east to left


After the Earl of Desmond, 1586-1900

After the forfeiture of the expansive estates of the Earls of Desmond in 1586 the land was divided into smaller estates that were mainly given to English grantees who were obliged to plant English settlers on their new estates, thus the transfer of the Desmond lands is usually referred to as the Munster Plantation. In 1591 Sir William Courtenay of Devon acquired the castle and surrounding lands of Newcastle. The castle was in partial ruins by that time owing to the four year Desmond rebellion of 1579-83 and the years of neglect between 1583 and 1591. Because of the poor state of preservation the castle was captured by the Irish during the Nine Years War but the ruins also allowed for the easy recapture of the castle in 1601 by Sir George Carew. By 1609 the castle was held by Sir George Courtenay and by 1622 he had carried out much repair work and reconstruction. This work greatly helped the castle in 1642 to withstand a siege of seven months and only surrendered when the Irish brought up heavier cannon from Limerick.[30] Sometime in the years 1709 to 1760 the Courtenay family built a large house on the footings of the medieval domestic range which was located just west of the Halla Mor.[31] A coach house was built in the middle of the yard to the east of the Halla Mór and this today acts as the visitor centre for the public part of the castle. Between the visitor centre and the east curtain wall of the castle are the foundations of a long rectangular building of possible medieval date as it is sixteen feet wide which is a common width for medieval buildings. This building was erected after the castle was expanded post 1282 but its use is unknown. It could be part of the kitchens to serve the Halla Mór and the Desmond Banqueting Hall but this is unclear.    


View of inside of SW corner of Halla Mor


Twentieth century

In 1910 the Courtenay family sold much of the urban estate in Newcastle town and the family of the estate agent, Charles Curling, purchased the castle complex.[32] In 1922 the castle was occupied by the Anti Treaty forces until August 1922 when they were driven out by advancing Free State forces on behalf of the newly formed Irish government in the civil war which occurred between July 1922 and May 1923 following independence from Britain. The Anti Treaty forces burnt the Courtenay mansion before they left to deny its use to the Free State. The castle was occupied by the Free State army and later for a time by the Garda Siochana (the civilian unarmed police force). Sometime after 1922 the castle was divided into lots and sold off (suggestively date to early 1940s). The Nash family purchased that part of the castle which is now (2023) the public area and became known as Nash Yard. A new partition wall was built from the river to the gateway of the castle. The west gable wall of the Halla Mór became part of this partition wall.[33] It is not clear in what condition the Halla Mór was at that time but by the 1940s it had being reconstructed into a cinema with new doorways and blocked up windows and internal partitions. The cinema opened in 1941 with room for about 500 seats and was known as the Desmond Cinema. The operator was Patrick Carroll-Nash.[34] On the night of 26th February 1968 the cinema went on fire. This fire recalled for many the tragic cinema fire in Drumcollogher a few miles south-east of Newcastle in 1926 when forty-eight people lost their lives. Drumcollogher was also once owned by the Courtenay family.[35] The building was left a roofless ruin until the whole public part of the castle was purchased by the state through the Office of Public Works in 1989. The Banqueting Hall, which was used variously as a Masonic Lodge and local community hall, was restored and opened to the public. In 2022 the government outlined plans to restore the Halla Mór with a roof and glass in the bare windows.


NE door of Halla Mor


The fabric of the Halla Mór

The Halla Mór is built of roughly quarried limestone with no quoins. The Halla Mór is circa 21meteres east-west, and 7.5meters north-south. The north and south walls of the Halla Mór are near to full height of circa 4.5meters. The west gable is circa 8meters high. The east gable varies in its medieval fabric from 1.25meters to 3.5meters in the north-east corner. The post medieval part of the gable extends the whole height to circa 7.5meters.[36] The entrance to the single storey building was at the east end of the north wall.[37] This is in keeping with the layout of enclosure castles and manor houses where the doorway of the banqueting hall is opposite the gateway to the castle. This north facing doorway was for visitors. The Earl entered via a doorway at the east end of the south wall having walked from the domestic range located just west of the Halla Mór over the previous boundary wall.


North wall windows of Halla Mor


The east and west gables appear to have had no windows. Inside the east gable were two niches for food or lighting. The south wall presently has four windows evenly spaced along its length. The most westerly window had a stone seat on each side of the opening for people to have a private conversation. The mostly easterly window was a doorway in the original 13th century Halla Mór but was blocked up and cut across by the 14th century. The present north wall has three windows towards the western end. A blocked doorway or window lies on the east side of the centre of the wall with the doorway at the east end. It would appear that the late 13th century Halla Mór had eight large cusped twin light windows of dressed limestone.[38] These were long windows that extended down to near the base of the wall. The windows have some sculptural decorations like small oak leaf motifs.[39] Some of these were removed in the early 14th century, during the time of Maurice FitzThomas Fitzgerald, created 1st Earl of Desmond in 1329, when the Halla Mór underwent structural changes. The most westerly window on the north wall and the two westerly windows on the south wall along with the mostly easterly window on the south wall were replaced by embrasures with four light cusped windows with a fifth cusped light above.[40]

In the 15th century the Halla Mór was again the subject of reconstruction when the walls were raised and tall stepped battlements were added to the roof line. Stone corbels were placed inside the north and south walls to support the new roof line. But this was insufficient to take the extra weight on the original walls. Thus a base batter was added to the base of the walls of circa 1.65meters high and 35cm out from the wall line.[41] The batter blocked up the bottom half of the 14th century windows leaving just three lights on each window. This worked is attributed to James Fitzgerald, 7th Earl of Desmond, in the period 1440 to 1462 when he died.[42] The 14th century windows have grooves for glass while the mullions and sill of the third window (13th century window) from the west on the south wall were added in 14th or 15th century. It is likely that the original 13th century windows all had glass as this would enhance the then new banqueting hall and show visitors that the Fitzgeralds were people of substance.


Facing north, Halla Mor left, Visitor's centre right and Desmond Hall in distance


It is unlikely that Earl James would reconstruct the Halla Mór while at the same time building a second storey on top of the 13th century chapel in the north-east corner of the castle yard to create what we now refer to as the Banqueting Hall or Desmond Hall. It is more likely that James’s son, Thomas Fitzgerald, 8th Earl of Desmond, built the Desmond Hall between 1462 and 1468 when he was beheaded at Drogheda. In 1463 Thomas was appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland.[43] The new two storeys Desmond Hall would be far more impressive as a banqueting hall for the most senior official in Ireland than the single storey Halla Mór which was possibly downgraded to the dinner hall of retainers and servants of visitors. Of course both halls would need a kitchen or two to cook the food and the foundations of the medieval building to the east of the visitor’s centre may have fulfilled that function.  

The Desmond castle at Newcastle West is a most impressive complex, even with only a third of it accessible to the public. This post on the Halla Mór features just one of its many buildings. When I visited the castle in April 2023 the Halla Mór was fenced off for reconstruction work and so this post only touches the surface of this one building as a full examination was not possible. It is hoped that in a future time the OPW will succeed in reroofing the Halla Mór and that will be a sight to see.


Halla Mor south wall from the river gate


South wall east most window of Halla Mor



The castle yard of Newcastle castle and Halla Mor


===============

End of post

  



[1] Tietzsch-Tyler, Daniel, ‘Reconstructing the Earl of Desmond’s Castle, Newcastle West, Co. Limerick’, in the North Munster Antiquarian Journal, vol. 51 (2011), pp. 27-51, p. 27

[2] MacCotter, Paul, Medieval Ireland: Territorial, Political and Economic Divisions (Dublin, 2008), p. 186

[3] Keegan, Mark, ‘The archaeology of manorial settlement in west county Limerick in the thirteenth century’, in James Lyttleton & Tadhg O’Keeffe (eds.), The Manor in Medieval and Early Modern Ireland (Dublin, 2005), pp. 17-39, at p. 23

[4] MacCotter, Medieval Ireland: Territorial, Political and Economic Divisions, p. 186

[5] MacCotter, Paul, ‘The Sub-infeudation and Descent of the Fitzstephen/Carew Moiety of Desmond (Part 1)’, in the Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, Vol. 101 (1996), pp. 64-80, at p. 64

[6] MacCotter, ‘The Sub-infeudation of the Fitzstephen/Carew Moiety of Desmond (Part 1)’, pp. 64-80, at p. 76

[7] Keegan, ‘The archaeology of manorial settlement in west county Limerick in 13th century’, pp. 17-39, at p. 27

[8] MacCotter, ‘The Sub-infeudation of the Fitzstephen/Carew Moiety of Desmond (Part 1)’, pp. 64-80, at p. 76

[9] MacCotter, Paul, ‘Lordship and Colony in Anglo-Norman Kerry, 1177-1400’, in Journal of the Kerry Archaeological and Historical Society, Series 2, Vol. 4 (2004), pp. 39-85, at p. 41

[10] Keegan, ‘The archaeology of manorial settlement in west county Limerick in 13th century’, pp. 17-39, at p. 26

[11] Empey, C.A., ‘The Settlement of the Kingdom of Limerick’, in James Lydon (ed.) England and Ireland in the later Middle Ages: Essays in honour of Jocelyn Otway-Ruthven (Dublin, 1981), pp. 1-25, at pp. 5, 6

[12] Orpen, Goddard Henry, Ireland under the Normans, 1169-1333 (Dublin, 2005), p. 514

[13] MacCotter, ‘The Sub-infeudation of the Fitzstephen/Carew Moiety of Desmond (Part 1)’, pp. 64-80, at pp. 66, 67, 70

[14] Tietzsch-Tyler, ‘Reconstructing the Earl of Desmond’s Castle, Newcastle West, Co. Limerick’, pp. 27-51, p. 28

[15] MacCotter, Paul, ‘The Sub-infeudation and Descent of the Fitzstephen/Carew Moiety of Desmond (Part II)’, in the Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, Vol. 102 (1997), pp. 89-106, at p. 97

[16] MacCotter, ‘The Sub-infeudation of the Fitzstephen/Carew Moiety of Desmond (Part 1)’, pp. 64-80, at p. 76; Empey, C.A., ‘The Settlement of the Kingdom of Limerick’, in James Lydon (ed.) England and Ireland in the later Middle Ages: Essays in honour of Jocelyn Otway-Ruthven (Dublin, 1981), pp. 1-25, at p. 12

[17] O’Keeffe, Tadhg, Medieval Irish Buildings, 1100-1600 (Dublin, 2015), p. 241

[18] Sweetman, H.S. (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, Vol. 4, 1293-1301 (5 vols. London, 1877-1881, reprint Liechtenstein, 1974), no. 551, p. 257

[19] Tietzsch-Tyler, ‘Reconstructing the Earl of Desmond’s Castle, Newcastle West, Co. Limerick’, pp. 27-51, p. 28

[20] MacCaffrey, Rev. James, The Black Book of Limerick (Dublin, 1907), nos. XXIII, XXIV, p. 171

[21] OPW, Desmond Hall, visitor’s guide (no date)

[22] Sweetman, H.S. (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, Vol. 2, 1252-1284 (5 vols. London, 1877, reprint Liechtenstein, 1974), no. 1912, p. 429

[23] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, Vol. 4, 1293-1301, no. 551, pp. 256, 257

[24] Sweetman (ed.), Calendar of Documents relating to Ireland, Vol. 4, 1293-1301, no. 727

[25] Tietzsch-Tyler, ‘Reconstructing the Earl of Desmond’s Castle, Newcastle West, Co. Limerick’, pp. 27-51, p. 28

[26] Tietzsch-Tyler, ‘Reconstructing the Earl of Desmond’s Castle, Newcastle West, Co. Limerick’, pp. 27-51, p. 28

[27] Tietzsch-Tyler, ‘Reconstructing the Earl of Desmond’s Castle, Newcastle West, Co. Limerick’, pp. 27-51, p. 33

[28] Tietzsch-Tyler, ‘Reconstructing the Earl of Desmond’s Castle, Newcastle West, Co. Limerick’, pp. 27-51, p. 29

[29] O’Keeffe, Medieval Irish Buildings, 1100-1600, p. 213

[30] Tietzsch-Tyler, ‘Reconstructing the Earl of Desmond’s Castle, Newcastle West, Co. Limerick’, pp. 27-51, pp. 38, 39

[31] Tietzsch-Tyler, ‘Reconstructing the Earl of Desmond’s Castle, Newcastle West, Co. Limerick’, pp. 27-51, p. 40

[32] Internet Blogpost, Comerford, Patrick, The castle in Newcastle West that has survived wars, fires and name changes, posted 11th September 2017 (accessed on 2nd August 2023)

[33] Tietzsch-Tyler, ‘Reconstructing the Earl of Desmond’s Castle, Newcastle West, Co. Limerick’, pp. 27-51, p. 40

[34] www.cinematreasurers.org Desmond Cinema by Gavin McGrath (accessed 2nd August 2023)

[35] Irwin, Liam, ‘The Calamitous Burning: The Drumcollogher Disaster of 1926’, in the North Munster Antiquarian Journal, Vol. 53 (2013), pp. 241-265, at p. 241

[36] www.archaeology.ie Archaeological Inventory via the Historic Environment Viewer on that website (accessed 2nd August 2023)

[37] Tietzsch-Tyler, ‘Reconstructing the Earl of Desmond’s Castle, Newcastle West, Co. Limerick’, pp. 27-51, p. 33

[38] Tietzsch-Tyler, ‘Reconstructing the Earl of Desmond’s Castle, Newcastle West, Co. Limerick’, pp. 27-51, p. 33

[39] OPW, Desmond Hall, visitor’s guide (no date)

[40] Tietzsch-Tyler, ‘Reconstructing the Earl of Desmond’s Castle, Newcastle West, Co. Limerick’, pp. 27-51, p. 34

[41] www.archaeology.ie Archaeological Inventory via the Historic Environment Viewer on that website (accessed 2nd August 2023)

[42] OPW, Desmond Hall, visitor’s guide (no date)

[43] McCormack, Anthony M., The Earldom of Desmond, 1463-1583: The Decline and Crisis of a Feudal Lordship (Dublin, 2005), p. 58

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