The MacEgan, Egan, Eagan & Keegan Families

2007 Summer Hours July through August: Open Daily 2pm - 6pm Evening Tours: Tuesdays and Fridays at 7.30pm, subject to booking Contact number: 0879818126 Contact email: info@redwoodcastleireland.com

Redwood Castle: History and a Virtual Tour

It is claimed that REDWOOD CASTLE is the oldest occupied Castle in Ireland where the present owners are Kinsfolk of the Owners of more than 600 years ago. It was built by Norman's about 1210, and occupied by them until 1350. In 1350 the O'Kennedy's, the Chieftains of this Territory, took over the Building and installed the MacEgans. They were the leading Irish Family of hereditary Brehons and Ollaves, or lawyers and professors, at the time. A celebrated school of learning, primarily of Law and History, was established by the Family, and pupils came from all parts of Ireland for about 300 years. The location, convenient to the river Shannon, made it easy of access, because at the time there was considerable traffic by water, and no roads as we know them. Well known persons who were educated here was Michael O'Clery from Donegal, the chief of a team of historians who compiled the Annals of the History of Ireland known as the Annals of the Four Masters. When the compilation of the Annals was completed in 1636 the owner of the Castle - Flann MacAodhagain - was the first of the six leading scholars invited to write his approbation of the work. Also Duald MacFirbis, a celebrated Genealogist, travelled from County Sligo to be educated here. In the Civil Survey published in 1654 it is stated "on the lands of Keilterua stands an old ruined castle, the walls only standing and two thatched cottages". In the same survey the occupier of the property in 1640 is given, and he is described as Conly MacEgan an Irish Papist. The building was destroyed in Cromwelliam times and the roof and wooden floors burned. This meant that from the ground floor you looked up to the stone barrel vaulted arch which is now the ceiling over the third level, and the topside of the arch was the floor of the Main Hall. For 350 years the building was a ruin considered to be beyond redemption, and suitable only as a shelter for cattle, and later for farm machinery. On the outside the ivy thrived until it covered the entire building and it reached out from the walls to a thickness of about 6 feet. The stonework was totally covered; all the window slits were choked with ivy and the spiral stairway was completely dark. It was only when the ivy was removed that it was possible to identify that there were three different periods of building ie. 1210, 1350 and 1580. Experts can identify building periods from the stone work chiselling, and the doorway was obviously replaced in 1580 as the chiselling is of that period. The only part of the building visible when it was covered by ivy was the doorway, and as a result the idea got abroad that as the chiselling there was of the 1580 period that that was the period of the whole building. The incorrect date appears in the published Tourist Literature. It was from the O'Kennedys that the MacEgans acquired the old Norman Castle in 1350, and by a remarkable coincidence it was from Michael Kennedy of Redwood, on whose holding the old ruin was located, that Michael J. Egan, a Mayo lawyer in the family tradition purchased the ruined building in 1972. Because of its ruinous state it was inconceivable that it would be possible to restore the building to its former condition, but despite many obstacles the restoration was completed with the idea that it would be used as a private house by the Egan family. However, the Government decided to introduce a Residence Tax of 1}% per annum, which would be an unbearable burden on the Owners. In the act, however, provision is made for the exemption from the Tax of Buildings of great historic interest which are open to the Public for specified periods. It is for this reason that Visitors are now invited to visit. Touring the Castle After the Normans landed in Ireland they picked good land in various centres and built timber strongholds on high earth mounds known as mottes. They erected timber stockades to bring in their livestock for protection. It is recorded that in 1207 Norman Settlements in Lorrha (ie. Redwood) Birr and Kinnity were attached and burned by the O'Briens of Munster, but the Normans decided to stay at Redwood - then called Coillte Ruadh - and they erected this substantial stone building. The walls were built almost nine feet thick and at ground level there was not a single opening other than the single door at the front - there were no windows or even slits to admit light or air, and this was because the owners were so conscious of their vulnerability to attack. When the lights are off there is total darkness on the ground floor, so it would be suitable only for storage or livestock. The second doorway was provided by the Restorer to fill an opening in the wall on the West side which was made over a hundred years ago to enable the farmer, who owned the land to bring farm machinery into the old ruin where cattle were normally housed. The Folklore is that it took three men a fortnight to make a hole in the 9' thick wall large enough to let a horse and cart through. Just inside the front door - the only entrance to the Castle originally - you will notice if you look upwards a rectangular hole over your head. This was a trapdoor in the small room known as the "Murder Hole". If there was an assault on the Castle, and the attackers succeeded in smashing down the door, the occupiers would, as "' a second line of defence, rain down missiles on the heads of the attackers from the Murder Hole. As we ascend the spiral stairs you can see the Murder Hole and Trap door. The spiral stairs in medieval castles were constructed so as to give an advantage to a right-handed swordsman defending the castle. He could better wield a sword as he was backing upwards than the attacker climbing the stairs whose movement would be very much restricted. As you climb the stairs you will notice the rough construction at the lower level - particularly on the underside of the stone steps. This crude construction dates back to 1210. Half way up the stairs there is a change in the type of construction - the sharp corners of the steps are chamfered, and the undersides of the steps are more refined. This confirms that the Building was enlarged by building upwards in the 14th Century after the MacEgan family were put into possession. There were four floors in the Castle, but strangely it is only possible to gain access to three of the floors from the spiral stairs. On your return journey downstairs you will visit the other floor. We now enter the large hall under the stone barrel vaulted arch.  As explained originally the floor of this Hall was destroyed by fire in the 1650's. The timber beams rested on ledge about 18" wide, and the ledge extended for the full length on both sides, and also along the back gable wall. In the 1798 period an outlaw named James Meaney was on the run, and he chose to hide out in this Castle, then in ruins. He was able to walk around the ledge and gain access to a room in the thickness of the wall, and now known in the locality as "Meaney's room". It was quite precarious exercise to walk around the ledge to reach the hideout. There are two other rooms on this floor - one a small room directly under Meaney's room and the other to a Garderobe or Toilet. This facility consisted of a wooden seat with a hole located directly above a chute or duct which went through the thickness of the wall to an opening about 5 feet above ground level on the wall on the Eastern side of the building. In this Hall there are six wall hangings of figures dressed in armour as for a medieval tournament. You will notice that the design on the shields is reproduced in the costume or surcoats. The figures represent O'Kennedy, four different Armigerous Egan Families, and Moran the wife of the present owner. We now move to the main hall, which would be the living quarters of the original owners. In the restoration a Minstrel Gallery has been provided. This is where Musicians would perform if there were festivities in the Great Hall. In the reconstruction the Gallery was made deeper than the norm so that it would serve the dual purpose of providing sleeping accommodation in an emergency. For the convenience of guests a wash up and toilet was provided by excavating into the thickness of the wall just under the Gallery. The old Garderobe - in addition to the Toilet has a bath and washhand basin. A section of the great hall was cut off to provide a kitchen with all its modern equipment. Over the kitchen a new floor has been provided with family bedrooms and bathroom. On the return to the Ground Floor we will pass through the Hall under the vaulted Arch and get onto a new staircase which leads to the Oratory where Mass is celebrated from time to time. The Bishop of this Diocese of Killaloe has given permission for the celebration of Mass in this Oratory at any time

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