Ormonde Castle

Ormonde Castle was the seat of the Butler family—Earls and later Dukes of Ormonde, who acquired the castle in 1315. The castle stands above the River Suir on the east side of Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary, Ireland. Today, the oldest part of the castle is a mid-15th century walled 'bawn' with a tower in each of its northern corners.

Sometime after 1565, the 10th Earl of Ormonde , (known as 'Black Tom') who spent many years at the court of his cousin Queen Elizabeth I (through Anne Boleyn), added a Tudor manor house of the type common in England but unlike any other in Ireland. The low, U-shaped range of this house forms three sides of a small courtyard attached to the north of the old bawn. It has two floors with a gabled attic, rows of mullioned windows with curved-headed lights and steep brick gables with slender finials.

The beauty of the building is enhanced by the generous mullioned windows on both floors to the front, and the elegant oriel windows of the porch in the centre of the facade. The gallery on the first floor features two beautifully carved stone chimney pieces, plus a ceiling and frieze of Elizabethan plaster-work.

The house became the favourite residence of the 'Great Duke of Ormonde', but was deserted by the family after his death in 1688. The family continued to own the house, however, until the 20th century. Fortunately, the house did not fall into ruin, and in 1947 was taken over by the State, which subsequently preserved the structure. The most notable achievement was the restoration of the long gallery on the first floor of the front facade, where the ceiling had largely collapsed. This fine room, once hung with tapestries, has a magnificent limestone fireplace bearing the date 1565, and stucco representations of Queen Elizabeth flanked by Equity and Justice. The Queen would have felt at home at Ormonde Castle, which was probably the intention of its builder. She is said to have promised her favourite cousin 'Black Tom' that she would one day honour Carrick with a visit.