The Castle or fortified Manor House structure is about 20 ft. x 40 ft. and was probably three storey.
It is thought that the mansion house "Castle" referred to by John Todd in 1739 may have been the building to the right of " The Castle" in The Sketch of Clones 1741, which shows chimneys on what appears to be a newer structure which would have been between the two oil tanks and the Credit Union wall in this photograph.
Text: Sean Slowey Photos: Brian Mc Namee
In the 1741 sketch "The Castle" appears to be in a ruinous state and was probably renovated for more general purposes at a later stage. By the time of Hamilton's Map of 1768 there is no indication of "The Castle" or a mansion house, but the "Five New Houses" are outlined, ie. from ex Dr.Ken Alexanders ( built 1760) to the Credit Union. To complicate matters four of these houses were reconstructed in 1858. Also between The Sketch of Clones 1741 and Hamilton's Map 1768, the new road to Monaghan has been constructed, the old road went past St. Tiarnach's Primary School and the Automatic Telephone Exchange about 500 metres North of the structure.
The long narrow windows were relatively common in old agricultural buildings, barns, etc. to allow air circulate and were generally curved inwards to allow as much light in as possible and I know of several more surviving windows near Clones. The Monaghan Road as we know it was once a bog and many inhabitants of the town would have had turbary rights to cut turf on assigned plots long before the Canal or Railway could transport coal or oil to the town. The "Monaghan Brae" would have been constructed c. 1760.
In Hamilton's Map 1768, the Clones Failte (ex-R.I.C. and later Garda Barracks) as well as Gough's Hotel (burned 1903) where the two houses are now, were not yet built. This area of the Diamond was then called "The Horse Green". From old leases the houses on Monaghan Street "Brae" appear to date from 1838-39. If you click on the following link, zoom in on map above the CA in Cavan and you will get Clones and 6" 1836 map and 25" 1907 map of Clones. "The Castle" however is hidden in other structures and in modern map is just a blue outline.
Above Clones Castle
Under Clones Castle
