Clara Castle

A remarkably complete fifteenth-century tower house north-east of Kilkenny city, retaining features rarely found intact elsewhere. Six storeys tall, it preserves its original oak floors, a murder hole above the entrance, secret chambers within the walls, and a spiral stair rising the full height. Built by the Shortall family, it stayed in use into the seventeenth century. Because so little was altered, it offers an authentic sense of daily life in a fortified Gaelic-Norman residence, from defensive tricks to domestic detail.