Galway Castles

vulcan57

I was just reading through the article in the Independent about the castle in Ballybrit, really interesting stuff really. It got me thinking. How many castles are there, or were there, around Galway and how old are they, and why so many in such a small area? There probably are a few I would think. The one in Ballybrit probably gives rise to naming Castlepark, what about Newcastle? I know there is the castle out the Headford Road, whats the story behind that?

biko

Ballindooley Castle is a Burke house. It had the distinction of having been shelled by the British gunboat Helga during the 1916 rising. Recently restored and plastered, it's being lived in again.


http://www.avenuestoindependence.org/1-2-07/ballindooley.html
http://homepage.eircom.net/~rookery/castle2.html

lucianot

I entered the tower in Merlin park so to take some pictures and some teen rascals locked me in when I reached the top. It took me some good 10 minutes to open the door from the inside
What's the story of the Ballybrit tower?

?Cee?view

Terryland Castle - beside the bridge
Lynch's Castle
Menlo Castle
The Castle, Salthill

dafunk

There's tons of castles around. Aughnanure in Oughterard is pretty nice, surrounded by a moate. There's also Ross Castle* out in Headford which is the oldest standing castle in Euro if the plaques are to be believed. It's a ruin with some cows hanging out inside but is worth a visit**



* Not 100% about the name.


** Bring your wellies!

?Cee?view

dafunk wrote: »

There's also Ross Castle* out in Headford which is the oldest standing castle in Euro if the plaques are to be believed. It's a ruin with some cows hanging out inside but is worth a visit**



* Not 100% about the name.


** Bring your wellies!

Do you mean Rosserrily by any chance?

http://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=1&ved=0CBMQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.monasette.com%2Fblog%2Fgallery%2Frosserrily%2F&rct=j&q=rosserrily+abbey&ei=51D-S-7FEKL40wTDrbzuDQ&usg=AFQjCNGyiCa8pH_I2rvOrP93H0vJ_UM9XA&sig2=weCue3g345WMOS367Pt8Mw

Madame Razz

Strictly speaking they aren't castles but are in fact tower houses. Most date from the 15th century or so in this country. The reason there are so many is that back in the day it was seen as 'the thing' to build one of them, to mark your property and show how noble your family was.

Here's a more polished version of the above from Wiki

catmelodian

http://www.claregalwaycastle.com/

s_carnage

Is there any map showing exactly where all these castles are in Galway?

ei.sdraob

theres a list of galway castles here, dont know how good it is

s_carnage wrote: »

Is there any map showing exactly where all these castles are in Galway?

check any ordinance survey maps

edit: here

Fenster

I've shot a few of them and know about most of them:

http://www.720nm.com/?s=castle

Madame Razz

Beautiful shot of DunGuaire!!

It's easy to forget about the likes of Blakes castle or the one at the back of Buskers whose name I can't remember.

Abandoned Ireland has some general photos.

Fuinseog

churchview wrote: »

Terryland Castle - beside the bridge
Lynch's Castle
Menlo Castle
The Castle, Salthill

blakes, down by jurys
claregalway-years ago you could go right up to the top. i am unsure whether it is going to be a private residence or retaurant.

Thargor

biko wrote: »

Ballindooley Castle is a Burke house. It had the distinction of having been shelled by the British gunboat Helga during the 1916 rising. Recently restored and plastered, it's being lived in again.


http://www.avenuestoindependence.org/1-2-07/ballindooley.html
http://homepage.eircom.net/~rookery/castle2.html

Errrr didnt the Helga sail up the Liffey and shell Liberty Hall and the GPO etc? Did it sail down to Galway afterwards or something?

Brilliant shot of Dunguaire Fenster, love that castle.

Starie1975

churchview wrote: »

Terryland Castle - beside the bridge
Lynch's Castle
Menlo Castle
The Castle, Salthill

:D:D The Castle Salthill. good one.

Ficheall

Legitimate bump, I think.
Does anyone know what the sceal is with Aughnanure Castle? Took a spin down while we were passing today, and followed an extensive boithrin which only led to a sign saying "Strictly Private Property. No Trespassing."
Couldn't see any sign of the castle anywhere. I was disappointed. My dad used to take us there all the time when we were kids.

Fuinseog

Ficheall wrote: »

Legitimate bump, I think.
Does anyone know what the sceal is with Aughnanure Castle? Took a spin down while we were passing today, and followed an extensive boithrin which only led to a sign saying "Strictly Private Property. No Trespassing."
Couldn't see any sign of the castle anywhere. I was disappointed. My dad used to take us there all the time when we were kids.

lovely castle. OPW. admission 3 euro. open until 5ish. i think the sign you refer to concerns a private field. You should have made it to the car park and just followed the path?

if you have a kayak you can go to the castle from the corrib.

Ficheall

Hmm... we didn't arrive until 6ish, so that probably didn't help.
But no, this wasn't a gate leading in to a field - it had a big winding driveway down behind it (we walked in a little way). I remember the car park that used to be beside the castle, but there was no sign of that. We probably missed a turn somewhere.

Kayaking in is a brilliant idea. I shall look into that. Go raibh míle.

Wompa1

churchview wrote: »

Do you mean Rosserrily by any chance?

http://www.google.ie/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=1&ved=0CBMQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.monasette.com%2Fblog%2Fgallery%2Frosserrily%2F&rct=j&q=rosserrily+abbey&ei=51D-S-7FEKL40wTDrbzuDQ&usg=AFQjCNGyiCa8pH_I2rvOrP93H0vJ_UM9XA&sig2=weCue3g345WMOS367Pt8Mw

Also known as Ross Abbey. It's worth a visit. A lot of stories about the place. How it was built because a guy had wanted to build a church and asked God where he should build, a few swans flew overhead and he followed them to that site...apparently :P

Also when the Vikings attacked and killed the Monks they took the bell from the tower and it hasn't been seen since. Popular belief is that it got dumped into the river.

The tomb has swords and all sorts inside it but it's obviously locked up..only know about the sword because some eejit managed to get into it. The tower is locked up now. It's a really cool place.

_Puma_

The Castle at Annaghdown was refurbished about 3 years ago and is now owned privately. Some nice views of it from Annaghdown Pier.