Tower house in County Kilkenny, Ireland
Clomantagh (or Croomantagh) Castle Sheela na gig relief at ClomantaghClomantagh Castle is a 15th-century tower house located near Freshford, County Kilkenny , in Ireland . Originally constructed in the 1430s,[1] additional buildings and outbuildings were added in the subsequent centuries - including a connected 19th century farmhouse.[2] Carvings on the castle's walls include a Sheela na gig relief (a symbolic pagan nude).[3] [4]
Situated on lands owned by the Earls of Ormond , on the death of Pierce 'Ruadh' Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond in 1539, the castle was inherited by his son, Richard Butler, 1st Viscount Mountgarret .[5] It remained in the hands of the Butlers of Mountgarret through the 16th and 17th centuries, until its confiscation following the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland .[5]
The castle was subject to renovations in the late 20th century (which received an award from the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland ),[6] [7] and is now managed as a holiday rental property by the Irish Landmark Trust .[8]
References ^ "Clomantagh Castle, Freshford, Co Kilkenny" (PDF) . irishlandmark.com . Irish Landmark Trust . Retrieved 26 March 2018 . ^ "Clomantagh, County Kilkenny". buildingsofireland.ie . National Inventory of Architectural Heritage . Retrieved 26 March 2018 . ^ "Clomantagh Castle". discoverireland.com . Discover Ireland . Retrieved 26 March 2018 . ^ Barbara Freitag (2005). Sheela-na-gigs: Unravelling an Enigma (PDF) . Routledge. p. 134. ISBN 0-415-34553-7 . ^ a b "Clomantagh Castle". britainirelandcastles.com . Castles of Great Britain and Ireland. Retrieved 26 March 2018 . ^ "Winners range from 'creative' urban infill to castle restoration". Irish Times . 29 June 2000. Retrieved 26 March 2018 . ^ Irish Architectural Review. Vol. 2. Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland . 2000. ISBN 9780946846542 . Retrieved 26 March 2018 . ^ "Irish Landmark Trust celebrates 25 years saving buildings". Irish Times . 24 June 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2018 . 52°43′32″N 7°29′07″W / 52.7255°N 7.4853°W / 52.7255; -7.4853