Irish Castles, Counties Mayo, Roscommon & Sligo
Irelandseye.com moves along the west coast, northwards, as our tour of Ireland's castles continues in County Mayo.
County Mayo
ROCKFLEET CASTLE
Visitors to this relatively small tower house cannot fail to be delighted by the elegant simplicity of its architecture and by the stark beauty of its setting on an inlet of Crew Bay. But the principal attraction of this romantic place is its association with the legendary Grainne ni Mhaille, Grace O'Malley, who lived here after she married Sir Richard Burke (Richard the Iron) in 1566. Few figures in Irish history catch the imagination more than this remarkable woman, known as the "Pirate Queen", for her undisputed control over the west coast in the late 16th century. Her navy routed large Government seaborne expeditions sent against Rockfleet in 1574 and 1579, while in 1588 she captured ships of the dispersed Spanish Armada and mercilessly killed the crews - an exploit which resulted in her being received in great state by Queen Elizabeth I. After the death of her husband in 1583 she remained at Rockfleet with "all her followers and 1,000 head of cows and mares". The castle has four storeys with a small rectangular corner turret rising above the parapet. The principal apartment must have been in the top floor where there is a fireplace. After the last war the building was restored by the diplomat Sir Owen O'Malley, a direct descendant of Grace, who lived in the nearby late Georgian house. In more recent years it was acquired by a former American ambassador to Ireland.8 km (5 miles) W of Newport. NGR: L 915954.
County Roscommon
BALLINTOBER CASTLE
This large "keepless" fortress is often claimed to be the only surviving early medieval castle of an Irish ruler. It was built in the 1290s and has a roughly square plan, with enormous asymmetrical polygonal corner towers and a gateway in the eastern curtain, flanked by comparatively small projecting turrets. However, residential apartments in the upper floors of the towers appear quite sophisticated in their design, indicating that Norman rather than Irish architects were employed. Indeed, the oft-repeated claim that this castle was built by the O'Connors of the Royal House of Connaught is difficult to sustain, especially as Irish chiefs of this period had no use for such fortresses. Furthermore, in the 1333 inquisition of the Earldom of Ulster, a hundred court is recorded at Ballintober. It is likely the builder was William de Burgo, and no doubt the castle's large area was intended to permit an Anglo-Norman settlement within its walls. The northern towers are higher than the others as they were rebuilt and repaired in 1627. Outside the walls extra protection was afforded by a wide water-filled moat. The castle fell into the hands of the O'Connors in the 14th century and remained in their possession for many centuries, being the chief seat of the O'Connor Don from 1385 until 1652. In 1598 it was surrendered to Red Hugh O'Donnell, who attacked it with cannon, breached its walls and forced Hugh O'Connor Don to recant his allegiance to the Crown. In 1641 it became a centre of Catholic resistance with the result that it was confiscated in 1652. The O'Connors regained possession in 1677 and remained in residence until 1701, when it was abandoned.17.5 km (11 miles) NW of Roscommon off the Tulsk Road. NGR: M 729748.
RINNDUIN CASTLE
The impressive ruins on the remote Rinnduin Peninsula at Lough Ree have quite a romantic appeal, though they are very overgrown and frustrating to study. The first castle and town was founded here by Geoffrey de Marisco in 1227 as a base during his campaign west of the Shannon. Once the Normans secured a greater foothold in Connaught, Rinnduin assumed an increasingly important position in government military strategy. By the 1270s it was providing a vital link between the royal forts of Roscommon and Athlone, as well as guarding the ships along the Shannon and helping to keep the O'Connor kings of Connaught in check. The castle is protected by a wide moat, once filled with water, running across the peninsula. This was probably dug in 1227, but the ward wall behind, which has small square loopholes, may not have been completed until 1260. The ward was entered through a rounded-headed archway of cut limestone with slots for a portcullis, outside of which are masonry piers for a bridge that was repaired in 1278. A town developed under the protection of the castle, defended on the landward side by a substantial towered wall. Only the ruins of the parish church remain, to the east. The town was sacked by the O'Connors in 1236 and 1270. After its final plunder in 1315 it appears not to have recovered.17.5 km (11 miles) N of Athlone and 4 km (2.5 miles) E of Lecarrow. Access through fields for half a mile to end of peninsula. NGR: N 008539.
ROSCOMMON CASTLE
Strategically set deep in the plains of Connaught, this great royal fortress was raised as part of a campaign to assert Crown authority west of the Shannon. The first fort was begun in 1269 by Robert de Uffort, but this was demolished by the native Irish under Hugh O'Connor in the 1270s. After this failure, the justiciary embarked on a stronger, more impregnable fortress, built in the early 1280s to the latest military specifications. Similar to Harlech Castle, which it pre-dated by three years, this castle comprised a large quadrangle with projecting D-shaped corner towers and an unusually fine twin-towered gatehouse in the centre of the east wall. A moat with drawbridges surrounded the castle at some distance from the walls, presumably filled from a lake that formerly lay close by. The castle was stormed in 1308 by a local chief, Donogh O'Kelly, and most of the inhabitants were slain. It remained in Irish hands, though probably largely deserted, until recovered by Sir Henry Sidney from the O'Connors in 1569. Nine years later it was granted to the Governor of Connaught, Sir Nicholas Malby, who built a splendid manor house on the east and north sides of the courtyard, with large mullioned windows inserted into the old walls. This appears to have had gardens on the east side enclosed by high walls with bastions. From 1645 to 1652 the castle was occupied by Confederate Catholics, but was dismantled after surrendering to the Cromwellians.Near Roscommon town off the Tulsk road. NGR: M 874649.
County Sligo
BALLINAFAD CASTLE
This neat little castle was built as a government military post by Captain St Barbe around 1590 to defend an important pass through the Curlew Mountains, and hence is known as the Castle of the Curlews. It comprises an oblong block of three storeys over a raised basement with stout towers at the corners. There were square rooms in all the towers save the north, where there was a circular timber stair. The door at first-floor level was secured with a drawbar and had an internal grille or gate. In the early 17th century the castle was garrisoned by a constable and ten warders. In 1642 it was attacked by the insurgent Irish and its defenders were forced to surrender due to lack of water.Ballinafad village, 9.5 km ( 6 miles) N of Boyle on the Sligo Road. NGR: G 7808.
BALLYMOTE CASTLE
Ballymote, begun in 1300, was the last and the mightiest of the Norman castles in Connaught. It was built some distance from an earlier motte by Richard de Burgo, the great Red Earl of Ulster, in order to protect his newly won possessions in Sligo. Almost square in plan with massive round towers at each angle, it is the most symmetrical of all the Irish "keepless" castles and bears an unmistakable resemblance to the inner ward of Beaumaris in Anglesea. There was a formidable double-towered gate in the centre of the north wall; recent excavations revealed that the gate towers, now largely demolished, were protected by a double skin of external walling. A postern gate planned for the centre of the south wall was never completed, probably because of the events of 1317, when the castle was lost to the O'Connors. Possession of the castle from 1317 until 1584 alternated between the O'Connors and the MacDonaghs. A lack of occupation levels implies that the building was virtually abandoned during these years. In 1584 it was taken by the notorious governor of Connaught, Richard Bingham, and remained an English base until lost to Red Hugh O'Donnell in 1598. It was here that O'Donnell assembled his forces on route to Kinsale in 1601. In 1652 the castle was surrendered by the Taaffes to parliamentary forces, and in 1690 it was captured by the Williamites, who soon afterwards had it dismantled and the moat filled in.Ballymote village, 24 km (15 miles) S of Sligo town. NGR: G 660154.
from the Appletree Press title Irish Castles
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