Cahir Castle

I was riding through Cahir in Tipperary last week. The light was fantastic so I did some quick watercolour and ink studies of the Castle.
Cahir castle is one of the largest, best preserved castles in Ireland and is situated on a rocky island outcrop in the middle of the River Suir. Because it is on an Island it is accessable from different angles making it an interesting Subject to paint

The origins of the castle are traced back to the third century when a Dun (earthen fort) was built upon the rocky Island and gave the town Cahir Castle, Cahir, Co. Tipperary, Ireland. it's original name "Dun Iascaigh" or "town of the fish fort". The subsequent building of a stone fort (Cathair) is recorded in the town name as Cathair Dun Iascaigh.

The O'Briens of Thomond fortified the site, in the century prior to the Norman invasion of 1169. The present structure is Norman and dates to the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, with significant nineteenth century restoration of a sympathetic nature. The Butlers were granted the castle in 1375 and it remained almost continuously in there possession until 1961.