NENAGH is usually jam-packed with heavy traffic trying to plough its way through on the main Dublin–Limerick road. It has one singular historical remain, a colossal round castle keep with walls 20ft thick, its five storeys reaching a height of 100ft and topped with nineteenth-century castellations. Totally gutted within, this final retreat tower was originally one of five round towers which, linked by a curtain wall, formed a Norman stronghold. Founded by Theobald Walter, a cousin of Thomas à Becket, it was occupied by the Butlers, then captured in turn by the O'Carrols of Eile and Cromwell, … more »