Aughnanure Castle

Aughnanure Castle (Caisleán Achadh na nlubhar in Irish) is a tower house in Oughterard, County Galway, Ireland.

Aughnanure Castle
Caisleán Achadh na nlubhar
County Galway, Connacht
Near Oughterard in Ireland
Aughnanure Castle
Location in Ireland
Coordinates53°25′04″N 9°16′16″W
TypeTower house
Site information
OwnerDúchas
Open to
the public		Yes
ConditionRuined
WebsiteAughnanure Castle webpage
Site history
Built16th Century
Built byO'Flaherty
In use17th Century
FateFell to ruin
Battles/warsSiege of Galway

History

The castle was built by the O'Flaherty family in the 16th century, one of Connacht's most notable lord families. Aughnanure is one of over 200 tower houses in County Galway, constructed mainly by Gaelic and Anglo-Norman land owning families. The tower lies close to the shores of Lough Corrib, and translates to "the field of the yews" in Irish (Achadh na nlubhar).[1]

The castle was controlled by the O'Flaherty chieftains until 1572, when it was captured by Sir Edward Fitton, President of Connaught, and granted to a junior member of the clan who accepted the legal formalities of recognizing "the Crown." It was used to blockade Galway during the Cromwellian invasion. Soon after, it was granted to the Earl of Clanrickard, and then reclaimed by the O'Flahertys. It later fell into the hands of Lord St George as the foreclosure of a mortgage.[2] It is now managed by the Office of Public Works, the Irish State body responsible for national monuments and historic properties.

References
  1. SiteCaddy (2 February 2010). "Aughnanure Castle". Oughterard Tourism. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  2. Profile, IrelandsEye.com; retrieved 25 February 2007.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.