castles historical galway

The town grew up around the castle built by Richard de Burgo in the early 13th century. in 1396 it became a royal borough, and a stronghold of the English Crown. It became a wealthy trading centre ruled by the fourteen 'tribes' of Galway including the Joyces and the Lynches. The town was burned in 1473, surrendered to the Cromwellians in 1652 and suffered heavily in the Williamite wars.

St. Nicholas's Church:

In Market Street is the Church of Ireland church of St....

A fine castle built by the O'Flahertys around 1500. It is a six-storey tower with a good fireplace on the 3rd storey and a vault over the 4th. The roof is a good modern reconstruction. There are two corner bartizans on the 3rd floor.

The castle is unusual in having two bawns. The inner one is well preserved along the riverside and has a rounded turret with a fine corbelled roof at the south-western corner. The outer bawn also has a turret at the south-western corner, and encloses t...

O'Flahertie's Castle, Oughterard

Little is left of the castle that belonged to the O'Flahertie clan. The castle dates from the 16th century, among the best features of the ruins are the tower and the main hall with it's stonework, with carved vines.

The O'Flaherties were not popular in Galway and were considered a threat. Over the West Gate of Galway in the Middle Ages was the following inscription: "From the furies of the O'Flaherties, Good God deliver us." The Clan were...

Ballinasloe Castle which commanded the bridge over the River Suck, was built by the O'Kelly's in the 14th century. Later it belonged to the Earl of Clanricarde and was captured by Ireton at the Cromwellian War.

One tower and part of the curtain wall are all that remain. Portion of the present bridge was built to the order of Queen Elizabeth in the 16th century....

This 16th century O'Hynes castle, with six sided by windows, set on a rock on the edge of Galway Bay by the approach to Kinvara has been restored.
From mid-May to mid-September medieval banquets are held and guests are afterwards entertained with Irish music and dancing as well as the reading of extracts from writers with local connections -Yeats, Lady Gregory, Martyn and blind Raftery the poet....

Situated on the rocky hill south of the landing place, and also known as Dun Formna, this is a 15th century tower, set in a stone ring-fort, which is one of Inis Oirr's (Inisheer) striking features as you approach the island....

One of a series of five fortifications, it was originally owned by the O'Kynes but eventually passed from one Sir Richard O'Donnell to Sir Benjamin Guinness, and thus became part of the great Guinness estates.

Architecturally, this castle has some interesting doorways. One enters this castle by entering the demesne via the Red Gate which is 1.5km east of Clonbur village....

Only one ceiling is retained, while there are also some scant remains of the bawn. It was the residence of Sir Thomas Fitzgerald, father of the betrayed Sugan Earl, until his death in 1595.

It was the scene of fighting with the Earl of Essex in 1599. James 1 granted it to Richard Boyle, afterwards Earl of Cork. Captured in 1645 by Lord Castlehaven, it was assaulted but not taken by Cromwell in 1650. It was burned in 1653, killing three daughters of the occupant. Afterwards it passed...

The impressive castle at Portumna was the seat of the Clanricarde Burkes, the most important landowners in County Galway. It was completed in 1617 by Richard Burke, the 4th Earl of Clanricarde, but was destroyed by fire in 1826.
The Office of Public Works has been involved in its restoration in recent times. It's a large building, rectangular in shape, with four square towers at the corners. It was one of the first buildings in Ireland with Renaissance features and is also noted for the...

This is a fine early 16th century tower standing in a bawn. The ground and third floors are vaulted, and there are mullioned windows and a fine fireplace on the 3rd floor. The six-sided bawn is one of the best preserved in the country, and the projecting angle in the west wall, constructed so as to have a wider range of fire, is probably imitated from the star-shaped forts. Nearby are the ruins of a contemporary gatehouse.

The castle was one of three built and owned by the O'Shaughne...