© 2010 Tyrrellspass Development Association
The old route from Dublin to Galway runs through Tyrrellspass. In fact, other remnants can be seen further out at the Killavalley Picnic Area. The Castle, seat of the Tyrrells, guarded the only strip of dry passable land through an area of deep bogs at a time when water levels were 8ft higher than the present.. The Tyrrells profited from this strategic piosition - as well as the toll gates - from the c.15 until the middle of the c.17.
The Castle is a beautifully restored five-storey tower, crowned by a parapet of battlements. One of the round turrets of the original bawn is visible from the road. At the rear of the castle, brought from the ruin of Castlelost tower house is part of a broken effigy said to be that of Richard Tyrrell. Dendrochronological tests on a cross-section from an oak beam in the ground-floor chamber have shown that the tree began to grow in 1280 and was felled in the autumn of 1410.
The most distinctive feature of the village is the Crescent of houses and village green, dating from at least the last quarter of the 18th century. The earliest map of the crescent is dated 1785 and indicates the lessees of houses and lands in the village.
The Crescent is composed, in the main, of two-storey blocks of three and four bays with fanlit doorcases, sash windows and corner quoins. In the Crescent, the schoolhouse is a charming three-bay, single-storey block, faced with limestone ashlar. The ‘Courthouse’ is an imposing building with a clock in the pediment.
