Ballynahow Castle

Ballynahow Castle is a late-medieval tower house standing on the western bank of the Farneybridge River, a tributary of the Suir, about 4.6 km northwest of Thurles in County Tipperary. Tower houses of this type were built across Ireland from the 14th to 17th century as fortified residences of Anglo-Irish landowners — compact, defensible structures that defined the rural feudal landscape. Designated a National Monument, the site is protected by the Irish state. Visitors find a quiet, largely undisturbed ruin set within pastoral riverine scenery, well off the main tourist circuit.