Loughmoe Castle ( ga, Caisláin Luach Magh, also spelt Loughmore Castle) is a ruined

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

Loughmore Loughmore, officially Loughmoe ( ; or ''Luachma''), is a village in County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The village is best known for Loughmoe Castle, seat of the Barons of Loughmoe. It is one half of the Ecclesiastical parish, pa ...

Village, near

Templemore Templemore () is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Eliogarty. It is part of the parish of Templemore, Clonmore and Killea in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. The 2011 Censu ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The castle was the ancestral home of the Purcell family, the

Barons of Loughmoe The title Baron of Loughmoe is an Irish feudal barony located in northern County Tipperary, Ireland. It was first held by Richard Purcell but the lands and castle were actually secured by Hugh Purcell of Loughmoe, first lord of Loughmoe. The t ...

Location

Loughmoe Loughmore, officially Loughmoe ( ; or ''Luachma''), is a village in County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The village is best known for Loughmoe Castle, seat of the Barons of Loughmoe. It is one half of the Ecclesiastical parish, pa ...

Castle is situated just outside the heart of

Village which is located between two townlands, 11.5 kilometres from

Thurles Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles (Roman Catholic parish), Thurles. The cathedral ch ...

and 6 kilometres from

. The castle sits on flat ground between the

River Suir The River Suir ( ; ga, an tSiúr or ''Abhainn na Siúire'' ) is a river in Ireland that flows into the Atlantic Ocean through Waterford after a distance of . The catchment area of the Suir is 3,610 km2.

and the Cork to Dublin Rail line where the castle is a visible feature for commuters.

History

Castles of Munster, Loughmoe, Tipperary - geograph

The first floor of the old building, 2019

The oldest part of the castle was built in the thirteenth century, and consists of a four-storey tower-house. Additions were made by the Purcell family in the seventeenth century. The family lived in Loughmoe Castle until around 1760. The land in which it was built on was granted to Sir Hugh Purcell in 1204 as a dowry from Beatrix FitzWalter's father, Theobald FitzWalter. At the same time this was built, a mill was erected not far from the castle. The first

Baron of Loughmoe The title Baron of Loughmoe is an Irish feudal barony located in northern County Tipperary, Ireland. It was first held by Richard Purcell, 1st Baron of Loughmoe, Richard Purcell but the lands and castle were actually secured by Hugh Purcell of L ...

was Sir Hugh Purcell, who was given the title by James Butler, first Earl of Ormonde and descendant of Theobald FitzWalter. The last Baron of Loughmoe,

Nicholas Purcell of Loughmoe Nicholas Purcell, 13th Baron of Loughmoe (1651 – 4 March 1722) was the son of James Purcell of Loughmoe and the maternal nephew of James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde. A member of the King's Privy Council, Purcell was the right-hand man to P ...

, died March 1722 and ended the Barony of Loughmoe.

Castle folklore

A local folktale surrounds the castle, which has been attached to the castle for a number of years. The story entails how the Purcell family first gained ownership of the castle. The tale purports that when Loughmoe was covered in dense forestry and ruled by a king who resided in the Castle, a wild boar and sow terrorized the people of the parish. The king promised the man who killed the sow and boar, could marry his only daughter, and take ownership of the castle and the surrounding land. Many men tried and failed until a young man named Purcell requested to take on the challenge. Purcell searched all over the land of Loughmoe and beyond to find the boar and sow. Purcell found the sow first, this led to a battle in which Purcell would defeat the sow with a bow and arrow. As the sow died, its squeals caught the attention of the boar who was in another part of the forest. This led the boar to run through the forest, destroying everything in its path, to the very spot where Purcell had slayed the sow. Enraged, the boar ran straight for Purcell. Purcell took the bow and arrow and shot the boar in the jaw; this led the boar to run away and later die. The king kept to his word and granted Purcell the castle, the land of Loughmoe and his marriage to the king's daughter.

Barons and Lords of Loughmoe

Lord of Loughmoe * Sir Hugh Purcell Baron of Loughmoe * Richard Purcell, 1st Baron of Loughmoe (1328) * Phillip Purcell of Loughmoe * Geoffrey Rothe Purcell of Loughmoe (c.1397) * Thomas Purcell of Loughmoe (c.1430) * Peter Purcell of Loughmoe * James Purcell of Loughmoe (c.1456) * John Purcell of Loughmoe (c.1466) * Thomas Purcell of Loughmoe (c.1518) * Patrick Purcell of Loughmoe (c.1534) *

Thomas Purcell of Loughmoe Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

(b.1538 d. 3 August 1607) * Ralph Purcell of Loughmoe * Richard Purcell of Loughmoe (d. 15 September 1624) * Theobald Purcell of Loughmoe (b. 1595 flourished 1630 died 1644) *

James Purcell of Loughmoe The title Baron of Loughmoe is an Irish feudal barony located in northern County Tipperary, Ireland. It was first held by Richard Purcell but the lands and castle were actually secured by Hugh Purcell of Loughmoe, first lord of Loughmoe. The t ...

, (b.1609, died 13 September 1652 *

born (September 1652), died 4 March 1722

References

External links