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, in order to command and defend strateg ...

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 spec ...

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 ( ; 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

Athenry Castle is located off Court Lane in the east part of Athenry, on the west bank of the River Clarin. It is sited on a natural rise and defended the ford.

History

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

Lord of Ireland The Lordship of Ireland ( ga, Tiarnas na hÉireann), sometimes referred to retroactively as Norman Ireland, was the part of Ireland ruled by the King of England (styled as "Lord of Ireland") and controlled by loyal Anglo-Norman lords between ...

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

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') 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 c ...

(constructed 1235/40) was low and squat, the roof being at the level of the present second floor.

Meyler de Bermingham Meyler de Bermingham (d. before 1275) was an Anglo-Irish lord, founder of Athenry. Ancestry Meyler was a great-grandson of Robert de Bermingham who is said to have obtained a grant of Offaly from Strongbow or Henry II about 1172. Robert's son ...

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 with towers, bastions and gates ...

. 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 crosse ...

in the square. In 1596 (during the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...

) 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 (i.e., a defensive low wall between chest-height and head-height), in which gaps or indentations, which are often rectangular, occur at interva ...

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 In architecture, batter is a receding slope of a wall, structure, or earthwork. A wall sloping in the opposite direction is said to ''overhang''. When used in fortifications it may be called a talus. The term is used with buildings and non-bui ...

, 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 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 gr ...

on the upper level and storerooms at ground level. The

s are 13th century with tall

arrowslits An arrowslit (often also referred to as an arrow loop, loophole or loop hole, and sometimes a balistraria) is a narrow vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows or a crossbowman can launch bolts. The interi ...

in the

merlon A merlon is the solid upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications.Friar, Stephen (2003). ''The Sutton Companion to Castles'', Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2003, p. 202. Merlons are sometimes ...

s. In the 15th century, these

parapets A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Wher ...

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 cultural rituals. It often takes the form of a metal box or bowl with feet. Its elevation helps circulate air, feeding oxygen to the fire. Braziers h ...

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 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 southwest 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 Kathleen may refer to: People * Kathleen (given name) * Kathleen (singer), Canadian pop singer Places * Kathleen, Alberta, Canada * Kathleen, Georgia, United States * Kathleen, Florida, United States * Kathleen High School (Lakeland, Florid ...

References

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

Castles in County Galway National Monuments in County Galway {{Ireland-castle-stub