Fiddaun Castle,
County Galway
Fiddaun is a lofty tower house that is best known for having one of the best-preserved bawns in Ireland. Built during the 16th century for the O'Shaughnessys, it comprises an oblong six-storey tower with vaults over its first and fifth floors. There are square bartizans placed very low down at third-floor level, a peculiarly Irish feature that was brought about by the introduction of firearms, which changed the axis of defence from the vertical to the horizontal.
Most of the O'Shaugnessy estates were forfeited in 1697 when the castle's owner, Sir William O'Shaughnessy, fled to France. Though only fifteen in 1690, he had fought as a captain in the Jacobite cause and later in exile pursued a brilliant military career, becoming a Mareschal de Camp in 1734. The castle was continuously inhabited by O'Shaughnessys until 1727.8 km (5 miles) SW of Gort off the Tubber road, lying on a low-level plain between two lakes. NGR: R 409949.
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