254 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



flaking away and high above the creek, along the face of a cliff of polished 

 silvery slate. The low neck joined it to the mainland, and the nearly perpen- 

 dicular strata make the dock-like creek of Coosadoona, fort-cove, to the south- 

 Beside this cove, opposite to the castle, an enormous precipice rises high 

 above the tower top. In the other direction is a noble view across the wide, 

 porpoise-haunted bay, and its low islands to the blue, many-channelled 

 Mount Gabriel, and on to Mizen Head. 



The castle has two rectangular courts ; the outer to the east is smaller and 

 lower than the other ; it is surrounded by a strong wall along the three cliffs, 

 demolished down to the field to the south and east, and is heaped with the 

 ct&ris and huge masses of the south-west angle of the tower. Some nearly 

 levelled out-building adjoins the keep. The girding- wall of the upper court 

 is better preserved to all sides save the west ; there is a defaced building at 

 the north-west corner, and the foundation of another, near the tower ; in the 

 centre of the garth is a small pit or well. 



The peel tower closely resembles Dunlough, Dunmanus, and Lemcon, which 

 we shall examine, and, like the last two, is probably of the fourteenth century, 

 so prolific of residential and ecclesiastical buildings in Minister andConnacht. 

 The south and half the east wall of the upper story are gone, and the stair- 

 case now rises westward up the south side, " bare to the sun." Doors to the 

 south and east lead into the vaulted under-room, which has three stories. No 

 wiudows appear in the lower story ; but the next floor and the attic have lights 

 to the east. The steps run up the east wall to the level of the attic, and then 

 the fourth leads to a lintelled door into an apparent cross-passage at the 

 vault and below the floor of the top room. There is a recess to the east, 

 perhaps a garderobe. The main vault is broken behind this. A precipitous 

 flight of five more steps leads up to the top room at the west wall. Five more 

 ascend to the south-west angle at the small west window-slit ; here the flight 

 turned and ran more steeply up to the battlements. 



The top room had windows to the east, and probably to the south ; half of 

 the former remains; the one to the west has a plain oblong light with flag lintels; 

 the northern is in a deep recess with a very slightly pointed arch, the widen- 

 ing being intended to support a gable and leave space round the battlements. 

 The side walls to the east and west have also a corbelling to widen the water- 

 tables. Xo doubt the southern side had also another deep recess with the 

 staircase up its west pier, and the thrust of its arch may have " kicked out " 

 the south-east angle. The battlements are sufficiently well preserved to the 

 north angles to show that they were neatly stepped. 1 



' View Plate XXIII, No. 2. 



