Aughnanure Castle is a

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, to command and defend strategic points ...

near

Oughterard Oughterard () is a small town on the banks of the Owenriff River close to the western shore of Lough Corrib in Connemara, County Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located about northwest of Galway on the N59 road (Ireland), N59 road. ...

on the N59, in

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

, in the west of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It was built by the O'Flaherty family in the late 15th century and fully restored in the 1960s. Today it is open to visitors from March to November.

History

The castle was built by one of Connacht's most notable Gaelic lordly families the Ó Flaithbheartaigh clan (the name later anglicised to O'Flaherty). Aughnanure is one of over 200 tower houses in

, constructed mainly by

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

and Anglo-Norman land-owning families. Most of them now lie in ruins. The tower is situated close to the shores of

Lough Corrib Lough Corrib ( ; ) is a lake in the west of Ireland. The River Corrib or Galway River connects the lake to the sea at Galway. It is the largest lake within the Republic of Ireland and the second largest on the island of Ireland (after Lough Nea ...

, and the name translates from the Gaeilge/Irish "''Caisleán Achadh na nlubhar''" as "Castle of the field of the yews"; and there was once an extensive yew forest stretching from the site half-way to Galway. Today it is the only intact medieval castle in Connemara that is open to the public. The site comprises the six-storey tower house itself, with crenellations, machicolations, bartizans, and carved water-spouts; an unusual double bawn enclosure with a unique round watchtower, docks, and a ruined banqueting hall featuring beautiful relief carvings depicting grapes and vines. The castle site was controlled by the O'Flaherty chieftains from around 1250 and the tower house built around 1490. By this time the O'Flahertys controlled most of

Iar Connacht West Connacht (; Modern Irish: ''Iar Connacht'') was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Galway, particularly the area known more commonly today as Connemara. The kingdom represented the core homeland o ...

, a territory comprising some 250,000 acres and affording extensive access to the Atlantic seaboard, and trade with Europe. In 1572 it was captured by

Sir Edward Fitton Sir Edward Fitton the Elder (31 March 1527 – 3 July 1579), was Lord President of Connaught and Thomond and Vice-Treasurer of Ireland. Biography Fitton was the eldest son of Sir Edward Fitton of Gawsworth (d. 1548) and Mary Harbottle, daughter ...

President of Connaught President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsidente ...

, and granted to

Murrough na dTuadh Ó Flaithbheartaigh Murrough na dTuadh Ó Flaithbheartaigh, anglicised Sir Murrough O'Flaherty (died 1593) was Chief of Iar Connacht, . Ancestry Great-great-great-grandson of Brian na Noinseach, son of Donall na Comthach Ó Flaithbheartaigh (who was, in turn, a ...

(Murrough of the Battleaxes), a junior member of the family who accepted the legal formalities of recognizing

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

, thereby dividing and weakening the clan's power and territories. They subsequently lost control of the castle, but regained it briefly 'by stealth' in the rebellion of 1641. Aughnanure kept

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

supplied during the

Cromwellian Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially a ...

siege of 1652; when the castle was controlled by the Earl of Clanrickard, and abandoned when the city surrendered. It was later bought back by the O'Flahertys, but defaulted into the hands of Lord St George as the

foreclosure Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has Default (finance), stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the Collateral (finance), coll ...

of a mortgage.Profile
IrelandsEye.com; retrieved 25 February 2007. In 1932 it was purchased by a distant relative of the Aughnanure O'Flahertys, Peadar O'Flaherty of Enniscorthy, County Wexford. He donated it to the State in 1952, recognising that its archeological, historical, and architectural significance would be best preserved that way; however, shortly after completing his gift, he died. It is now managed by the Office of Public Works, the Irish State body responsible for national monuments and historic properties.

References

{{Castles in Connacht Buildings and structures completed in the 15th century Castles in County Galway Ruins in the Republic of Ireland National monuments in County Galway O'Flaherty dynasty Historic house museums in the Republic of Ireland Museums in County Galway Tower houses in the Republic of Ireland