Ballyknockan Castle

Ballyknockan derives its name from Irish 'Baile an Chnócáin'—literally 'the settlement of the small hill'—with 'baile' meaning townland or settlement and 'cnócán' being the diminutive of 'cnoc' (hill). The castle itself is a tower house, the characteristic medieval Irish fortification that served both defensive and residential purposes for the Anglo-Norman and Gaelic nobility. Laois in the med...