"Carrigeen Castle"

Français Deutsch Italiano Español

The oldest part of The Bridewell of Cahir dates from circa. 1600. It is the remains of a lockout fort, built in a commanding position overlooking Cahir Town. The ruins, consisting of a semi-circular tower and wall section, were incorporated into the Exercise Yards for male and female prisoners. The Bridewell (Town Gaol) was planned at the 1810 Summer Assizes of County Tipperary Grand Jury. The initial building cost of 251 pounds 12s was overturned in favour of an elaborate, castellated structure, to emphasise the centrality of Cahir castle to the town. This plan of Lord Cahir's increased the building costs vastly. The creation of towers, turrets and battlements was both expensive and time consuming. The architect may have been Michael Bernard Mullins, who submitted his plan in 1812. This plan was rejected for another, which may have been by him or another architect. The Bridewell was complete by circa. 1819, making it one of Cahir's oldest public buildings.

The Bridewell is three stories high, with a cut limestone spiral staircase in the main tower. It originally comprised five cells, two dayrooms, two keeper's rooms, and two exercise yards. Following improvements and the construction of the keeper's residence in 1850. The Bridewell comprised eight cells, two dayrooms, six keepers rooms and two exercise yards. The grounds enclosed by a castellated wall and entrance. This is thought to incorporate an earlier fort of bawn defence wall, because of its circular shape.

The Bridewell received notice in many famous publications of the nineteenth century. In 1837 it was described as "a handsome castellated building" and in 1846 as "distance and suitable in location and architecture". Vast numbers of prisoners were confined within its walls during the famine years, mostly for petty crimes. In 1878 the Bridewell was one of 52 gaols closed by the prison authorities, as part of a nationwide rationalisation programme. The keeper's residence was then rented to local military officers. This was the situation until the purchase of the building from the Butler-Charteris estate by the present owners, the Butler family in 1919. The Castle was open to guests, as a bed and breakfast in May 1976.