[Knockannaneen Castle alternative view]

Artist(s): Thomas Dineley (Draughtsman)

View of Knockannaneen Castle, near Birdhill, Co. Tipperary. The battlemented tower house, with several large windows and an adjoining one-storey building, stands on elevated ground in the centre of the image. The landscape is undulating and partially wooded. There appears to be a windmill on one of the hills in the distance. The image is surrounded by a circular frame. <br><br>Birdhill was known in medieval times as Knockaneen or Cnocán-an-éin-fínn (the little hill of the white bird). The castle there, forfeited by the O’Briens after 1641, was granted to Lieutenant William Sheldon. By 1904, no trace of the castle was visible, but Berry noted oral sources suggesting that it had been located in the area of the stables behind Birdhill House. <br><br>Sources: <br> Henry F. Berry, ‘The antiquities of the parish of Kilcomenty, near Birdhill, Co. Tipperary’, <em>Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland</em>, 34, 99-110.<br>Archaeological survey of Ireland, at http://webgis.archaeology.ie/historicenvironment/, record no. TN031-004----, accessed 28.12.2017.<br><em>The Archaeological Inventory of County Tipperary. Vol. 1 - North Tipperary</em>, compiled by Jean Farrelly and Caimin O'Brien (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002).

Image Details

Genre Landscape
Technique Pen and ink drawings
Subject(s) Antiquities and archaeological sites, Forts and fortifications
Geographical Location
  • Birdhill – Townland
  • Knockannaneen Castle – Castle
  • Munster – Province
  • Tipperary – County
Keyword(s) Archaeological sites, Birds, Buildings, Castles, Hills, Mills, Towers, Trees
Colour Monochrome
Dimensions 8 cm x 8 cm
Published / created 1681

Bibliographical Details

Travel Account Observations in a Voyage through the Kingdom of Ireland
Contributor(s)
Print or manuscript Manuscript
Location of image in copy p. 212
Source copy National Library of Ireland MS 392
Permalink https://ttce.universityofgalway.ie/irelandillustrated/view/image/ii_image_1375103620
Rights Courtesy of the National Library of Ireland

Related text from travel account

From Cragg Owhny to Knockannaneen a small mile. The Etimology of Knockannaneen is, the Hill of the white bird this Estate and Castle belongs to Sheldon Esq<sup>r</sup>.
[p.212] From Knockannaneene to O’briens Bridge Town is a mile and half. (p.211-212)
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