Isert Kelly 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, in order to command and defend strate ...

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

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Location

Isert Kelly Castle is southwest of

Kilchreest Kilchreest ( ga, Cill Chríost) is a civil parish of County Clare, Ireland. It contains the village of Ballynacally and is part of the Roman Catholic parish of Ballynacally (Clondegad), which includes the civil parish of Clondagad to the north ...

History

The tower house was built some time in the 15th century. It belonged to the MacHubert Burkes, who claim descent from Hubert, son of

Richard Óg de Burgh Richard Óg de Burgh ( ; fl. early-to-mid 13th century) was an Anglo-Irish noble and soldier who was the ancestor of de Burgh/Burkes of Clanricarde. Background Richard Óg de Burgh is alleged in some post-medieval sources to have been a younger ...

, a

Hiberno-Norman From the 12th century onwards, a group of Normans invaded and settled in Gaelic Ireland. These settlers later became known as Norman Irish or Hiberno-Normans. They originated mainly among Cambro-Norman families in Wales and Anglo-Normans fro ...

knight of the 13th century. It later passed to the MacRedmonds, another branch of the Burkes (de Burgo, de Búrca). It was burned by the Ó Doṁnaill (O'Donnells) in 1596. A fireplace within is dated 1604. After the

Cromwellian conquest of Ireland The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland or Cromwellian war in Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell invaded Ireland w ...

Isert Kelly Castle passed to Dudley Persse. William Persse owned it in the 19th century. Substantial excavation took place in 2014–16.

Description

The tower house is well-preserved and stands tall, within a bawn square. Secondary buildings may have included a hall, stables, cottages and barns. The surrounding "Castlepark" townland covers . The first floor is vaulted and has a fireplace. The second floor has arcades. The main room is at the third storey with a dated fireplace of 1604 with the initials W.H.

References

External links

*{{YouTube, nZkfrNztPGg, Archaeological Excavations, Isert Kelly Castle 2015 National Monuments in County Galway Castles in County Galway