Knocklong Castle

Knocklong Castle lies in the townland of Knocklong East, in County Limerick, in Ireland.

Exactly when Knocklong Castle was first built is unknown. It is sometimes attributed to the mid-14th century. The present castle, however, was built around the 1570s. It was a property of the O'Hurley/Hurley family. They held onto it until 1655, when it was confiscated by the Cromwellian government. By then it was described as ruinous.

Sometime, during the 17th century, the castle was remodeled; vaults over 2 levels were removed and replaced by wooden floors, the floor level of the cellar was lowered by quarrying away the rock on which the castle was built, and the gables were put on. I don't know if these works were done before or after 1655.

The castle is essentially a square tower house, built on a hill with commanding views.

At present, Knocklong Castle is situated on private pasture that is sometimes in use by cows and the occasional bull. So it can not be visited when the animals are roaming around. A nice small ruin, but I liked its location even more.

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