School: Birr (Mercy Convent)
- Location:
- Birr or Parsonstown, Co. Offaly
- Teacher: Sr. Flannan
Archival Reference
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0821, Page 183
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- XML “Local Ruins”
- XML “Leap Castle”
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- (continued from previous page)church are the ruins of an old house in which a Protestant minister lived up to about 80 years ago.
- Leap CastleLeap Castle is situated between Roscrea and Kinnity about five miles south east of Birr. This castle was one of the chief strongholds of the O'Carrolls. The old name of this place was Leim-Uí-Bhanain, that is the Leap of O'Banan.In the year 1514 the Earl of Kildare marched to attack this Castle but did not succeed in taking it, and returned to collect more forces, but was seized with an illness of which he died. In 1516 his son Gerald took this Castle. Again in 1557 the Earl of Sussex captured it, but later in the same year William O'Carroll took Caisleán an Léime from the English. This signifies "the Castle of the Leap". About the year 1826 Leap Castle was in possession of Mr. Darby and was then in a fine state of preservation, scarcely to be(continues on next page)
