Athenry 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 ...

and

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

located in

Athenry Athenry (; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland, which lies east of Galway city. Some of the attractions of the medieval town are its town wall, Athenry Castle, its priory and its 13th-century street-plan. The town is also well known by virt ...

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 ...

Location

Athenry Castle is located off Court Lane in the eastern part of Athenry, on the west bank of the

River Clarin The River Clarin () is a fast-flowing river in Ireland, flowing through southern County Galway. Course The River Clarin rises in the townland of Gortnalone, north of Attymon and snakes westwards, turning southwards through Athenry. Athenry C ...

. It is sited on a natural rise and defended a ford in the river.

History

Despite being locally known as King John's Castle or King John's Court (after the

Lord of Ireland The Lordship of Ireland (), sometimes referred to retrospectively as Anglo-Norman Ireland, was the part of Ireland ruled by the King of Kingdom of England, England (styled as "Lord of Ireland") and controlled by loyal Normans in Ireland, Anglo ...

1177–1216), it wasn't built until twenty years after his reign. The original

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

(constructed 1235/40) was low and squat, the roof being at the level of the present second floor. Meyler de Bermingham extended it c. 1250. In 1316 the castle was attacked, leading to the construction of

city walls A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with to ...

. In the 15th century the Berminghams moved from it to their town house near the

market cross A market cross, or in Scots, a mercat cross, is a structure used to mark a market square in market towns, where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or a baron. History Market crosses ...

in the square. In 1596 (during the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

) the castle fell into the hands of the O'Donnells. The

battlement A battlement, in defensive architecture, such as that of city walls or castles, comprises a parapet (a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at intervals ...

s are 13th century and in the 15th century, these parapets were incorporated into gables for a new roof. The castle was restored in 2005.

Building

Athenry Castle is a large rectangular building with base-batter, originally containing only a

hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and the Early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gre ...

on the upper level and storerooms at ground level. The

s are 13th century with tall arrowslits in the

merlon A merlon is the solid, upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications. Merlons are sometimes pierced by narrow, vertical embrasures, or tooth-like slits designed for observation and fire. The sp ...

s. In the 15th century, these parapets were incorporated into

gable A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...

s at the north and south ends for a new roof. Parts of the original enclosure wall of the castle survive. The original entrance was at first-floor level and was reached by an external wooden stairs. Heat was probably provided by a

brazier A brazier () is a container used to burn charcoal or other solid fuel for cooking, heating or rituals. It often takes the form of a metal box or bowl with feet, but in some places it is made of terracotta. Its elevation helps circulate air, feed ...

in the centre of the hall, with the smoke exiting through a louver or opening in the roof directly above. The

garderobe Garderobe is a historic term for a room in a medieval castle. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' gives as its first meaning a store-room for valuables, but also acknowledges "by extension, a private room, a bed-chamber; also a privy". The word der ...

is diagonally across from the main entrance. There is fine carving on the exterior of the doorway and on the inner side of two of the window openings. The

capitals Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

are carved with floral motifs in a local style, known as the "School of the West", transitional between Romanesque and Late Gothic. A mural staircase led to the top floor. Wall-towers were built at the northeast and southeast corners, while the southwestern corner was fortified by the gate.

In fiction

The castle features in the 2005 children's historical novel: ''Hoofbeats: Lara at Athenry Castle'' by Kathleen Duey.

References

{{Reflist

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

Castles in County Galway National monuments in County Galway