Redwood Castle, Norman castle in County Tipperary, Ireland

Redwood Castle is a Norman stone castle near Lorrha in County Tipperary, built around 1200 and enlarged and renovated several times, with considerable work from 1350. Its thick original stone walls survive, and the building has a murder-hole and a Sheela na gig, a carving less common in Irish fortifications.

Redwood Castle was built by the Normans around 1200, and they held it until about 1350, when the Mac Aodhagáin were installed on the lands. The clan, hereditary Brehons, ran a school of learning here for several hundred years and enlarged the castle from 1350. It stayed with the Egan families until about 1650, when it was confiscated and burned during the Cromwellian conquest.

The Irish name Caisleán Choillte Rua refers to the red wood or red woodland of the site, not to a 'great wood'. From about 1350 the Mac Aodhagáin, hereditary Brehons, ran a school of learning in the castle, patronised by the family for several hundred years. Clan Egan still treats Redwood as its ancestral home and has held rallies here, including segments of the 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 gatherings in Ireland.

Redwood Castle is a private residence, so visits are only possible during the limited summer openings required by the Department of Finance heritage tax relief scheme; check locally in Lorrha before travelling. The building is a protected structure (ref S329) on the North Tipperary list, and the surviving thick exterior walls stand on uneven ground, so sturdy footwear helps.

Redwood Castle is a protected structure (ref S329) on the North Tipperary list, and Clan Egan treats it as its ancestral home. The clan holds rallies in different countries about every two years; the 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 gatherings in Ireland each had a segment at the castle.