Castle - hall-house

The National Monuments Service's description

In well-drained undulating pastureland. It consists of a small 13th-C castle in fair condition. What survives is N gable wall and substantial sections of the adjoining E and W walls of a two-storey rectangular keep (L >8.7m, Wth 7.6m). No trace of the original doorway survives. However, the presence of a horizontal socket (for a drawbar) at the frayed S end of E wall may indicate the position of a doorway on the ground floor. The presence of horizontal offsets halfway up E and W walls indicate the former position of the wooden floor between ground/1st floors. A doorway on 1st floor at extreme N end of W wall led to a projecting latrine, the ragged stonework of which is visible externally. The surviving windows consist of simple rectangular slits; that in N wall on 1st floor is set in a small embrasure. There are two small aumbries in E and W walls on ground floor. Evidently still in use in 1574 when it was in the possession of 'Murrogh McSwyne' (Nolan 1901b, 119). A church (GA071-076001-) lies 755m to NNW.

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Galway Vol. II - North Galway'. Compiled by Olive Alcock, Kathy de hÓra and Paul Gosling (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1999).

Date of upload: 05 August 2010