Castle - tower house

The National Monuments Service's description

The MacMahons were chiefs of Dunmugyda Inver in the 13th century, but the castle is first listed in 1574 when it was owned by Sir Donal O'Brien, but was owned by MacMahons in 1599 when it was re-taken by the Earl. It was granted by the Earl to Morrogh MacGucarrick in 1617, and it may have been occupied down to 1698 when it is mentioned in letters, but was a ruin by the early 19th century. It is situated on the landward side of a small W-E promontory (dims. 22m N-S; 11m E-W) at the W side of Doonbeg Bay.

Rectangular structure (ext. dims. 11m E-W; 8.3m N-S; H c. 13m) to two storeys with good quoins and traces of a base batter, but most of the outer face of the walls is gone at the base. The destroyed doorway is towards the N end of the E wall and leads through a lobby protected by a murder hole to the ground floor appartment under an E-W vault. This chamber has embrasures and double-splayed lights on the N and W walls, that on the S wall being expanded into a secondary entrance. From the lobby a destroyed mural stairs in the E wall leads to a spiral stairs at the SE angle, which is now inaccessible. This led to a chamber (int. dims. 3.2m E-W; 1.2m) with two small lights in the S wall. Steps in the E wall lead from the spiral stairs through a passage to a room over the murder hole, now largely destroyed. Beyond this room, a passage in the N wall leads W to a garderobe with two chutes. A doorway in the passage in the E wall gives access to the first floor underneath an E-W vault, but the W wall of this room is destroyed. There is a single destroyed window in the N wall and a small chamber at the W end of the N wall. All other windows are simple lights, and the spiral stairs continues to further storeys, now destroyed. (Westropp 1905, 104; Marrinan 1984, 43; Breen and Ua Cróinín 1995, 26-8)

Compiled by: Michael Moore

See attached document with details from Risteárd Ua Cróinín and Martin Breen, The Castles and Tower-houses of Co. Clare (unpublished report). Uploaded courtesy of R. Ua Cróinín and M. Breen.

Date of upload: 16 December 2014