Tullykelter Castle is a

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 ...

located in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. In 1616 Archbishop Malcolm Hamilton of Monea Castle granted land for the castle to James Somerville, and his wife Elizabeth, believed to be the daughter of Thomas Hamilton of Brimhill. They had a daughter who married the Archbishop's third son Captain John.

Architecture

Tullykelter (from the Irish ''Tulaigh Chealtchair'') is in a townland in the Monea area carrying its name on a hilltop about a mile southwest of Monea Castle in

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...

. Tullykelter Castle is now in ruins with heavy overgrowth which makes inspection very difficult. It has two main floors 60 by 20 feet on the inside.''Tullykelter Castle, Co. Fermanagh'' by D.M. Waterman, Archaeological Survey of Northern Ireland

James and Elizabeth (Hamilton) Somerville

James Somerville was of

Cambusnethan Cambusnethan is a large village and suburb on the eastern edge of Wishaw, North Lanarkshire in Scotland. It is approximately long, straddling both sides of the A722 on a hill overlooking Wishaw. Etymology The name "''Cambusnethan"'' was his ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

, Scotland. James and Elizabeth by leasing land to the native Irish broke the agreement of land ownership, which caused the land which he leased to be forfeited. James and Elizabeth took the

Oath of Supremacy The Oath of Supremacy required any person taking public or church office in England to swear allegiance to the monarch as Supreme Governor of the Church of England. Failure to do so was to be treated as treasonable. The Oath of Supremacy was ori ...

, but a lessee, Daniel Elliot, who was given the position of "caulter" (purchaser-accountant, with the title of the Tullycaulter of Tullykelter) did not take the Oath of Allegiance, a type of loyalty oath for his position.

References

{{coord, 54.3830, N, 7.7620, W, source:wikidata, display=title Castles in County Fermanagh