Castlegarde

Castlegarde, near Pallasgreen on the borders of Limerick and Tipperary, is a fine example of a tower house that has remained in continuous occupation since mediaeval times. Tower houses are ‘fortified private residences’ and were usually the precursors of the 'classic Georgian house of the middle size.’ Most numerous in County Limerick, they were often enlarged to meet their owners’ changing requirements. Few tower houses were as sympathetically reordered as Castlegarde, which was adapted and enlarged by the Pain brothers, acolytes of the renowned architect John Nash, for Waller O’Grady, younger son of the first Viscount Guillamore.