Castle - unclassified

The National Monuments Service's description

On E side of a small sea inlet and c. 190m SE of the remains of Cashel House (GA091-009001-). In existence in 1549 when 'Walter Fada Bourke was murthered [there] by … Donnel Fitz-Rory Og Flaherty' (Hardiman 1846, 62-3). When inspected in February 1984, all that survived of the castle were the foundations of parts of its W and S walls (<9m by <7.30m), which were lapped by the sea at high tide. The remains of a cabin within these foundations, a causeway crossing the inlet, and a substantial fosse on W side of the latter were probably later features (SMR file). On a revisit in January 2018, following winter storms, the castle was as described in the earlier report but the causeway was not as clearly defined due to the presence of storm material consisting of boulders. Likewise, the fosse was not evident as this area was covered with seaweed. This may be the castle called 'Ballemicro' in the list of Galway castles compiled in 1574: it was then in the possession of 'Thomas Blake' (Nolan 1901, 115). (O'Flanagan 1927a, Vol. 3, 148-9, 151; Killanin 1947, 131)

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Galway Vol. I - West Galway'. Compiled by Paul Gosling (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1993). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Updated by: Olive Alcock

Date of revised upload: 31 July 2018

The following images have been uploaded:
GA091-017----_02.jpg Detail of S wall from S
GA091-017----_03.jpg S wall from S
GA091-017----_05.jpg S end of W wall from S
GA091-017----_06.jpg W wall from W

References

O'Flanagan, Rev. M. (Compiler) 1927 Letters containing information relative to the antiquities of the county of Galway collected during the progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1839. Typescript in 3 vols. Bray.

SMR file - Sites and monuments record files in the National Monuments Service, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

Hardiman, J. (ed) 1846 A chorographical description of West or H-Iar Connaught written in A.D. 1684 by Roderic O'Flaherty, Esq. Dublin.

Killanin, L. 1947 Notes on some of the antiquities of the barony of Moycullen, Co. Galway. Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society 22, 120-31.

Nolan, J.P. 1901a Galway castles and owners in 1574. Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society 1, 109-23.