Castle - tower house

The National Monuments Service's description

Located in pasture on a slight rise in an undulating, low-lying landscape with the Ballinamore and Ballyconnell canal c. 50m to the N. The castle was an Ó Duighgeannáin (O’Duignan) castle known as Caisleán Coillte Foghair where, according to the earliest references in the annals (AFM; Ann. Conn.), in 1409 ‘John and Conla O’Cuirnin were killed by Dermot, son of Murtagh O’Cuirnin, in the house of Ó Duigheannáin’. The O’Duignan family were bards and ollamhs (teachers) to the Conmaicne and other Gaelic families of north Connaught and north Leinster during the Middle Ages, and were thought to have had a bardic school at Coillte Foghair. One of the compilers of the Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland (Annals of the Four Masters) was Cú Coigriche Mac Tuathaill Ó Duighgeannáin from Coillte Foghair, who was known as Peregrine (MacNamee 1954, 629-30; Cunningham 2019).

The castle may have been re-used or re-built by Col. Coote in the 17th century, when it became known as Castlefore but not because it had four towers. It was destroyed in the 1641 rebellion, reputedly having been betrayed by a female servant (McParlan 1802, 90-91; Lewis 1837, vol. 2, 617). The castle cannot be identified on the Down Survey (1656-8) maps unless it has become confused with the unlocated castle at Cornabrone (LE024-058----). It survived into the nineteenth century as three walls and three corner-towers with gun-loops and was probably a tower house. No feature is visible now at ground level, apart from two parallel banks (L c. 35m) placed 7m apart extending SSE, which may be the remains of a roadway.

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.

Compiled by Michael Moore

Date of revised upload: 13 January 2013

References

MacParland, E. 1982 Rathfarnham Castle, Co. Dublin. Country Life, 734-7.

Lewis, S. 1837 A topographical dictionary of Ireland, 2 vols. London. Lewis and Co.

MacNamee, Rev. J.J. 1954 History of the diocese of Ardagh. Dublin. Browne and Nolan.

Ann. Conn. - Annála Connacht, The Annals of Connacht, 1224-1544, ed. A. Martin Freeman (Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1944)

AFM - Annals of the kingdom of Ireland by the Four Masters from the earliest period to the year 1616, ed. and trans. John O'Donovan (7 vols., Dublin, 1851; reprint New York, 1966)

Cunningham, B. 2019 Leitrim scribes and scholars, c. 1400-c. 1700. in In Kelly, L. and Scott, B. Leitrim: History and Society, 221-42. Dublin, Geography Publications