McDermott's Castle
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McDermott's Castle is a
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 ...
and protected
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 Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...
,
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 ...
. The site of a fortification since at least the 13th century, the structure's
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 ...
may date from the 16th century, with much of the current building (including its
crenellation 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 t ...
s) dating to the 19th century.


Location

McDermott's Castle is located on Castle Island, an island of in the southeast corner of
Lough Key Lough Key () is a lake in Ireland. It is in the northwest of County Roscommon, northeast of the town of Boyle. The lough is believed to be named after a mythical figure named Cé. Name The name ''Lough Key'' comes from the Irish ''Loch Cé''. ...
.


History

The
Mac Diarmada Mac Diarmada (anglicised as McDermott or MacDermot), also spelled Mac Diarmata, is an Irish surname, and the surname of the ruling dynasty of Moylurg, a kingdom that existed in Connacht from the 10th to 16th centuries. The last ruling king was ...
were the ruling dynasty of
Magh Luirg {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022 Magh Luirg or Magh Luirg an Dagda, anglicised as Moylurg, was the name of a medieval Irish kingdom located in modern-day County Roscommon, Ireland. It was a sub-kingdom of the kingdom of Connacht from c. 956–1585. ...
(Moylurg; northeast
Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...
) from the 10th to 16th centuries. A castle stood on this island from the 12th century: in 1184, the ''
Annals of Loch Cé The ''Annals of Loch Cé'' (also ''Annals of Lough Cé'') cover events, mainly in Connacht and its neighbouring regions, from 1014 to 1590. It takes its name from Lough Cé in the kingdom of Moylurg - now north County Roscommon - which was th ...
'' report that a
lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...
bolt caused a fire: A rebuilt castle featured in the final part of the 1235 conquest of
Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...
by
Richard Mór de Burgh, 1st Baron of Connaught Richard Mór de Burgh, 1st Lord of Connacht ( ; – 1242 or 1243), was an Anglo-Norman aristocrat who was Seneschal of Munster and Justiciar of Ireland (1228–32). Background Richard Mór de Burgh was born towards the end of the year in 11 ...
. The castle came under siege, first by a raft-mounted
catapult A catapult is a ballistics, ballistic device used to launch a projectile at a great distance without the aid of gunpowder or other propellants – particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. A catapult uses the sudden rel ...
, and then by
fire ships A fire ship or fireship is a large wooden vessel set on fire to be used against enemy ships during a ramming attack or similar maneuver. Fireships were used to great effect against wooden ships throughout naval military history up until the ad ...
. Cormac MacDermott, King of Moylurg, was forced to surrender. A poem addressed to Tomaltach an Einigh mac Diarmata (King of Moylurg 1421–58) tells the story of the Hag of Lough Key who used (or abused) Cormac MacDermott's (king 1218–44) hospitality by staying on the Rock for a full year, and laid upon the McDermotts the obligation of perpetual hospitality. The McDermotts lost the island in 1586, and
Eochaidh Ó hÉoghusa Eochaidh Ó hÉoghusa, or O'Hussey in English, (1567–1617) was a well-known Irish bardic poet. Life A native of Ulster, born probably in (Ballyhoo/Ballyhose), in what is now County Fermanagh, Ó hÉoghusa was employed for much of his life by t ...
(1567–1617) wrote a poem lamenting the castle's emptiness. By the early 19th century the castle was in ruin, until architect John Nash was commissioned to redevelop the structure as a summer house or folly. In 2014, the island and castle featured in an episode of sitcom ''
Moone Boy ''Moone Boy'' is an Irish sitcom created, co-written by and co-starring Chris O'Dowd for British broadcaster Sky One. The series is co-written by Nick Murphy (writer), Nick Vincent Murphy and is produced by Baby Cow Productions, Sprout Pictures ...
'', as the residence of the mysterious "Island Joe." In 2018, the castle was put up for sale for €80,000. However, the sale was later withdrawn and the castle returned to private Irish ownership. In 2019, archaeological excavations were also undertaken on the island. The excavations concluded that the island itself is essentially a multi-period fortification, with the earliest elements dating to the early medieval era. An earlier, two to three meter thick enclosure wall pre-dating the standing enclosure wall was excavated at a depth of a meter and a half. Medieval buildings dating to the thirteenth century were excavated on the northern side of the island above the earlier fortification, but were not found to be connected to the standing enclosure wall. High-status Gaelic artifacts were discovered, including silver pins, a gaming piece, and large collections of butchered cattle, boar, and sheep. The research on the island was featured in
Archaeology Magazine ''Archaeology'' is a bimonthly magazine for the general public, published by the Archaeological Institute of America. The institute also publishes the professional ''American Journal of Archaeology The ''American Journal of Archaeology'' (AJA), ...
.


Building

The standing remains on the island date from at least three distinct periods. The enclosure wall around the island are the earliest standing remains. O'Conor et al. argued that the enclosure wall is probably of medieval construction, but the wall has not been dated, and the excavations by Finan and Schryver were not able to connect the enclosure wall to their excavations. O'Conor et al. identified a late medieval tower house on the interior of main standing building. An arrow slot and medieval windows are found on the western wall of this tower house. The additions on either side of the tower, as well as the kitchen on the eastern side of the tower, were added by the architect John Nash in the early nineteenth century to form a summer house. At that time, windows were inserted into the later medieval tower house. The enclosure wall was modified on the northern end of the island in order to provide a view from the main window inserted into the tower.
Isaac Weld Isaac Weld JP FGSD MRIA (1774–1856) was an Anglo-Irish topographical writer, explorer, and artist. He travelled extensively in North America was a member of the Royal Dublin Society. Early life Weld was born on 15 March 1774 on Fleet Str ...
, writing in 1832, describes as part of "the castle proper" two rooms, one above the other, each , with walls thick. It is not clear whether this refers to part of the original castle, or the later construction. The summer house, as built by Nash, burned down during the mid-20th century.


References


External links

* {{Commons category-inline, Castle Island, Lough Key National monuments in County Roscommon Castles in County Roscommon