Castle - tower house

The National Monuments Service's description

Built on the S side of crannóg (LE002-01401-), which is located c. 100m off the S shore of Lough Melvin close to Rosclogher church (LE002-015001-), which is c. 120m to the S. This is a castle of the McClancy clan which was visited by Captain de Cuellar, a survivor of the Armada, in 1588 (O'Reilly 1893), who provides a detailed account of life in the tower house. The castle is a rectangular masonry structure (int. dims 7.5m N-S; 6.55m E-W) of which only the W and S walls survive (max. H c. 9m at S) with dressed quoins. It had at least three storeys, and is now badly obscured with ivy. Architectural features do not survive and only fragments of window opes, a doorway and a mural passage are visible. An E-W internal division was inserted as a secondary feature at ground floor level. There is a low wall 3.15m from the W wall, with gun-loops facing the shore, which Captain de Cuellar built.

The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Leitrim' compiled by Michael J. Moore (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2003). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research.

Date of upload: 23 September 2008

References

O'Reilly, P.J. 1893 Remarks on certain passages in Captain Cuellar's narrative of his adventures in Ireland, after the wreck of the Spanish Armada in 1588-89, followed by a literal translation of that narrative. Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy 19, 175-217.

McDermott, J. J. 2019 Late medieval strongholds of the Gaelic Irish in County Leitrim. in In Kelly, L. and Scott, B. Leitrim: History and Society, 103-27. Dublin, Geography Publications