Coonagh Castle

Did You Know?

• The castle lies on the west bank of the Cahernahallia River, a tributary of the Dead River.
• The turret measures 5.2 x 3.4 m externally.
• The donjon's basement had walls up to 3.3 m thick in places.

History

Coonagh Castle was constructed around 1225 by the Hiberno-Norman couple William and Matilda de Marisco. It served as the main manor for the medieval cantred of Okonagh, which matched the ancient barony of Coonagh. A fort might have stood there earlier, possibly built by William de Braose in the 1100s. King John seized the land in 1210. Later, the area of Okonagh, along with the town of Tipperary and the right to appoint its parish church’s clergy, was given to the Augustinian Friary of the Most Holy Trinity in Dublin. The property then went to Matilda, a relative of King Henry II, when she wed William de Marisco sometime before 1226. In November 1234, the de Mariscos lost the castle because they backed Richard Marshal against the king. King Henry III handed it over to Luke, the Archbishop of Dublin. In 1242, Luke rented out the manor of Coonagh to Maurice FitzGerald for two decades. The king reclaimed it in 1244. In 1281, it was given to Otto de Grandson. After that, the castle vanishes from historical records and was left to fall apart.