Westropp — Ancient Castles of the County of Limenck. 73 



more where only a view of a castle is found on an ancient map 

 without any written statement. In such cases error may have arisen 

 or a house been named a " castle." Where there is more than one 

 definite record, the non-occurrence of remains at the place disproves 

 nothing. On the other hand, an alleged site, even with foundations 

 or a fragment of wall, without records, as in the case of Nicker, we 

 regard as most doubtful. 



"We cannot guard against the giving separately of two groups of 

 records, or the records and a site, which may belong to the same 

 castle. As a pioneer, such mistakes are more than possible in our 

 work. The cases of Esclon and Newtown, or of Caslenuilchin and 

 Castleurkine, may prove to fall under this head. The opposite may 

 be found to be true of Castle Blake, which we have been led to 

 identify with Castle Blathac ; and we would rest content if we dared 

 hope that no other errors might be found. Despite every care,^ it 

 may also happen that a record may have got transferred from the 

 actual castle to one of similar name ; but we have usually withheld 

 all equivocal documents, and where doubtful of the identity, we give 

 the records under different sections. AVe collect under the barony, 

 the parish (so far as lying in the barony), and the townland, and give 

 after the name the number of the map in the Ordnance Survey of 

 " 6 inches to the mile." 



The number of castles was really amazing. In the north liberties 

 of Limerick, round Oola and in parts of Connello, castles appear in 

 every thii'd or fourth townland. Tradition in Limerick seems less 

 reliable than in Clare ; but local workers may be able to correct this 

 impression, though more critical inquiry is necessary in collecting 

 legends now that history is more accessible. Still the influx of 

 English families absolutely uninterested in the past story of their 

 lands must have sorely affected tradition in this county. 



As in the Church Survey, we condense the records of the more 

 important structures, but give them as much as possible to thi'ow 

 light on the more obscure buildings. "We also adopt the Ordnance 

 Survey name for the section, but give the variant forms in the 

 records.^ "We must deprecate the disappointment of readers un- 

 acquainted with the limitations of material and space which beset 

 our work. Some who have spoken to us appear to expect family 

 history, and even personal biographies, and connected pedigrees of 



^We sometimes use a "typical" date, e.g., " 1590,'' for Hardiman maps of 

 1582-1600: 1655 for Civil Surveys, &c., 1653-1657: and i5S3 for Desmond 

 Surveys, 1582-1587. 



[8*] 



