Craggaunowen is an archaeological

open-air museum An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings" ...

in eastern

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

, Ireland. It is named for the 16th-century castle which is one of its main components. Craggaunowen is located 10 km east of Quin village. The name Craggaunowen derives from its Irish name ''Creagán Eoghain'' (Owen's little rocky hill). The site is operated by Shannon Heritage.

Open-air museum

The open-air museum, sometimes described as a "Living Past Experience", was started by John Hunt on the site around the castle. It containis reconstructions of ancient Irish architecture including a

dolmen A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...

, a

crannog A crannog (; ; ) is typically a partially or entirely artificial island, usually constructed in lakes, bogs and estuary, estuarine waters of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Unlike the prehistoric pile dwellings around the Alps, which were built ...

and the

currach A currach ( ) is a type of Irish boat with a wooden frame, over which animal skins or hides were once stretched, though now canvas is more usual. It is sometimes anglicised as "curragh". The construction and design of the currach are unique ...

boat used in

Tim Severin Timothy Severin (25 September 1940 – 18 December 2020) was a British explorer, historian, and writer. Severin was noted for his work in retracing the legendary journeys of historical figures. Severin was awarded both the Founder's Medal ...

's recreation of "The Voyage of St. Brendan the Abbot". It also shows reconstructions of a

Ringfort Ringforts or ring forts are small circular fortification, fortified settlements built during the Bronze Age, Iron Age and early Middle Ages up to about the year 1000 AD. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are ...

, Fulachta Fia (Bronze Age cooking and industrial site) and Standing Stone (Ogham Stone).

Castle

Origins to ruins

Craggaunowen Castle was built around 1550 by John MacSioda MacNamara, a descendant of Sioda MacNamara, who built Knappogue Castle in 1467. It was left in ruins in the 17th century, and rendered uninhabitable by the removal of the roof and staircase, and indefensible by removal of the battlements, at the time of the Cromwellian confiscations around 1653.

19th century

The Tower House remained a ruin until it and the estate of Cullane House across the road, were inherited in 1821 by "Honest" Tom Steele, a confederate of

Daniel O’Connell Daniel(I) O’Connell (; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilisation of Catholic Irelan ...

, "The Liberator". Steele had the castle rebuilt as a summer house in the 1820s and he used it, and the turret on the hill opposite, as places of recreation. His initials can be seen on one of the quoin-stones to the right outside. Following his death in 1848 the lands were divided, Cullane going to one branch of his family, Craggaunowen to his niece Maria Studdert. Eventually, having passed through the hands of his descendants, the castle and grounds were acquired by the "

Irish Land Commission The Irish Land Commission was created by the British crown in 1843 to "inquire into the occupation of the land in Ireland. The office of the commission was in Dublin Castle, and the records were, on its conclusion, deposited in the records tower ...

". Much of the poor quality land was given over to forestry and the castle itself was allowed to fall into disrepair. By the time of the First Ordnance Survey in the 1840s, the castle was in ruins again. In the mid-19th century, the castle, herder's house and 96 acres were reported in the possession of a Reverend William Ashworth, who held them from a Caswell (a member of a family from County Clare just north of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

20th century and restoration

In 1906, a mansion house at the site was owned by Count James Considine (from a family based at Derk, County Limerick). Craggaunowen Castle was bought and restored by antiquarian John Hunt in the 1960s. Hunt added an extension to the ground floor, which for a while housed part of his collection of antiquities. The collection was later moved to the University of Limerick and as of 2022 is held at the

Hunt Museum The Hunt Museum () is a museum located in The Custom House, Limerick, the Custom House in the city of Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It holds a personal collection donated by the John Hunt (antiquarian), Hunt family, it was originall ...

in the city of Limerick.

References

External links

Shannon Heritage: Craggaunowen
{{authority control Archaeological sites in County Clare Crannogs in Ireland Museums in County Clare Archaeological museums in the Republic of Ireland Open-air museums in the Republic of Ireland