Burnchurch Castle,
County Kilkenny
Many tower houses have an abundance of mural chambers and passages hidden away within their walls, though few have the number and complexity of those found in the early 16th-century castle of the Burncourt FitzGeralds. This well-preserved tower house, occupied until 1817, has four storeys beneath a vault with the principal chamber above, lying just below a gabled roof. Apart from its mullioned windows, this chamber is noteworthy for its finely carved chimney-piece; it has a tall, round chimney, while the roof's gable walls have been extended so that both ends of the tower are carried up an extra stage to provide high battlemented fighting platforms.
A great hall was formerly attached to the tower's outside wall, but this has now vanished, as has most of the bawn. A curved outside staircase still provides access to the three upper floors of this little tower.
6.5 km (4 miles) SW of Kilkenny off the Clonmel Road. NGR: N 472474.
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