Dunmore Castle is a castle and National Monument located in County Galway,

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

Dunmore Castle is located northwest of

Dunmore, County Galway Dunmore () is a town in County Galway, Ireland. It is located on the N83 national secondary road at its junction with the R328 and R360 regional roads. The town belongs to an ancient tuath called Conmhaícne Dúna-Móir and Cenél Dubáin ...

, on the north bank of the

Sinking River A losing stream, disappearing stream, influent stream or sinking river is a stream or river that loses water as it flows downstream. The water infiltrates into the ground recharging the local groundwater, because the water table is below the bo ...

History

Tradition states that Dunmore (Irish ''dún mór'', "great

hillfort A hillfort is a type of earthwork used as a fortified refuge or defended settlement, located to exploit a rise in elevation for defensive advantage. They are typically European and of the Bronze Age or Iron Age. Some were used in the post-Roma ...

") was a lesser residence of the ancient

Kings of Connacht The Kings of Connacht were rulers of the ''cóiced'' (variously translated as portion, fifth, province) of Connacht, which lies west of the River Shannon, Ireland. However, the name only became applied to it in the early medieval era, being name ...

. The first castle at Dunmore was built by

De Birmingham family The de Birmingham family (or de Bermingham) held the lordship of the manor of Birmingham in England for four hundred years and managed its growth from a small village into a thriving market town. They also assisted in the invasion of Ireland a ...

in the early 13th century as a bulwark against

Gaelic Irish The Gaels ( ; ga, Na Gaeil ; gd, Na Gàidheil ; gv, Ny Gaeil ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in the British Isles. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languag ...

attacks. In 1249 Dunmore was attacked and burned by the Ó Conchubhair (O'Conors). In 1284 it was besieged by the

Síol Maelruain Síol Maelruain was a territory located in north County Roscommon due west, from what is now Castlerea. Its lake, Lough O'Flynn, is the source of the River Suck and is located at the foot of Slieve O'Flynn mountain. The lordship was centered on t ...

under Fiachra O'Flynn. In 1315 the castle was damaged by Rory O'Conor during the Bruce campaign in Ireland. Most of the present structure dates from the early 14th century, i.e. the reigns of Edward II and III as Lords of Ireland: it was a two-storey hall keep. Dunmore Castle was modified in the 16th century, with extra floors, roof gables, chimneys, windows and a ground floor entrance. The de Berminghams rebelled against

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

and the castle was taken from them in 1569 by Sir

Henry Sidney Sir Henry Sidney (20 July 1529 – 5 May 1586), Lord Deputy of Ireland, was the eldest son of Sir William Sidney of Penshurst, a prominent politician and courtier during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI, from both of whom he receive ...

, Lord Deputy of Ireland, although it was later returned. The castle was seized from the de Berminghams permanently in the Cromwellian era (1650s). It was occupied by the Ouseley family (including the famous preacher Gideon Ouseley) until the 19th century. A

lime kiln A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone ( calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime called quicklime (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this reaction is : CaCO3 + heat → CaO + CO2 This reaction can take p ...

was built on the site in the 19th century. The castle is at present under the protection of the

Office of Public Works The Office of Public Works (OPW) ( ga, Oifig na nOibreacha Poiblí) (legally the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland) is a major Irish Government agency, which manages most of the Irish State's property portfolio, including hundreds of o ...

Description

The castle is a rectangular five-storey keep measuring at base with a large base-batter. There is evidence for a

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 ...

at the northwest. The windows include an oculus,

mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid supp ...

s and

arrowslit 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 interio ...

s. Some of the curtain wall survives.

References

{{Reflist National Monuments in County Galway Castles in County Galway