Ballyhoura (Limerick) County Limerick
If you are driving through Kilmallock it is impossible to miss this impressive 15th-century four-storey tower house. The castle, which spanned S John's street, is named after King John, who died in 1216, but was built much later.
The castle is a four-storey tower that may have been part of the northern gate entrance to the town at one time. It is sixty feet high with battlements, and two wide arched openings at ground level. There is a public passage through an opening of the basement.
King John's Castle was built in the 15th Century and is a good example of a 'Peel' Tower. It was granted to Henry Billingsley in 1588, and Thomas Browne in 1604. In 1645 it was used as an arsenal by Lord Castlehaven's troops in the war with Oliver Cromwell and then was subsequently used as a military hospital in 1651.
The tower was renovated in the 19th century with the addition of larger windows and was used for a time as a blacksmith's forge.
