Shra Castle

Shra Castle stands as a four-storey tower house near Tullamore in County Offaly, built in 1588 by John Briscoe, an Elizabethan officer. Rising 20 metres high, the fortified structure includes defensive features such as bartizans, gun loops, and machicolations designed to repel attackers. Severely damaged during Cromwell's campaigns in 1650, the castle retains ruins of a seventeenth-century residence attached to its northwest corner. Located near the Grand Canal towpath, the striking ruins remain accessible to visitors seeking to explore this historic site.