Ballinalacken Castle is a two-stage

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 ...

located in

Killilagh Killilagh or Killeilagh ( ga, Cill Aidhleach) is a civil parish in County Clare, Ireland. It contains the village of Doolin. Location The parish lies in the northwest corner of the Barony of Corcomroe. It is and covers . It lies along the So ...

parish of

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...

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 ...

. It is of uncertain date but most likely was built in the 15th or early 16th century.

Name

The name probably derives from ''Baile na leachan'' (town of the flagstones/tombstones/stones) or ''Beal Áth na Leacha'' (ford-mouth of the flagstones).

Location

It is located in the region known as

the Burren The Burren (; ) is a karst/glaciokarst landscape centred in County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland.
Burren ...

on a

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

outcrop overlooking the roads from

Lisdoonvarna Lisdoonvarna () is a spa town in County Clare in Ireland. The town is famous for its music and festivals. Although the music festival was discontinued in the 1980s, Lisdoonvarna still hosts its annual matchmaking festival each September. The pop ...

Fanore Fanore () is a small village in County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland. The area was officially classified as part of the West Clare Gaeltacht, an Irish-speaking community, until 1956. Geography Location Lying on the road between Bally ...

and

Doolin Doolin () is a coastal village in County Clare, Ireland, on the Atlantic coast. It is southwest of the spa town of Lisdoonvarna and 4 miles from the Cliffs of Moher. It is a noted centre of traditional Irish music, which is played nightly in i ...

. Below the castle lies the intersection of R477 and R479 roads.

History

Given the prominent position, it is likely that the location was used for previous fortifications, but no traces of such are visible today. In the late 14th century, Lochlan MacCon O'Connor reportedly built a fortress at the site. The current tower house resembles Leamaneh Castle in that it was constructed over a prolonged period. The oldest part is the tall eastern tower, likely built in the 15th century. In 1564 the O'Connors lost their territory and in 1584/5 the castle was formally ceded to Sir Turlough O'Brien. Following the 1641 rebellion and subsequent Cromwellian reorganization, Turlough's son Daniel petitioned the English Commission in 1654 to save the house from demolition. Either he or his son, Teigue, eventually built the expansion at Ballinalacken. Teigue's son in turn, Donough, styled himself "of Ballyneleackan". The house remained in the possession of the Ennistymon O'Briens until the middle of the 18th century, when it passed to a different branch of the family. The Ballinalacken O'Briens trace their descent from ''Turlough Don'' who died in 1528, and also from the

Ennistymon Ennistymon or Ennistimon () is a country market town in County Clare, near the west coast of Ireland. The River Inagh, with its small rapids known as the Cascades, runs through the town, behind the main street. A bridge across the river leads to ...

branch of the O'Briens, which was founded by Sir Donald O'Brien of Dough Castle (Lahinch) who died in 1579. In 1641-2 it was held by Daniel O'Brien of Dough and in 1654 a Cromwellian officer ordered the castles of Dough and Ballinalacken to be preserved from the dismantling of fortifications. In the 1667 Act of Settlement a Captain Hamilton became owner, but the O'Briens regained possession. The O'Briens were one of the most powerful families in Ireland at the time and built several castles - of which Ballinalacken is one. In 1837 its owner was planning to repair it. The bow fronted bungalow-type Ballinalacken Castle Hotel was built in the 1840s as the home of Lord O'Brien. It likely was built by John O'Brien MP (died 1855), eldest son of James and Margaret O'Brien. Being widowed in 1806, Margaret married Cornelius O'Brien. John was the father of Peter O'Brien. The house features a marble fireplace carved from a single slab and a circular, centre-roof window. There are also some original stained-glass windows and an O'Brien stone crest. The residence became a guest house in 1938.

Description

The castle is surrounded by a

bawn A bawn is the defensive wall surrounding an Irish tower house. It is the anglicised version of the Irish word ''bábhún'' (sometimes spelt ''badhún''), possibly meaning "cattle-stronghold" or "cattle-enclosure".See alternative traditional spe ...

, entered through a

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal jutting from a wall to carry a superincumbent weight, a type of bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in the wall, whereas a console is a piece applied to the s ...

led,

machicolated A machicolation (french: mâchicoulis) is a floor opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement, through which stones or other material, such as boiling water, hot sand, Calcium oxide#Weapon, quicklime or boiling cooking oil, could be dro ...

gate. The tower house itself seems to have been constructed in two sections, later connected. The narrower and one storey taller eastern wing has the doorway with a top machicolation. A porter's lodge faces the circular stairs from which three floors of bedrooms are accessed, lit by small windows. The top floor gives access to a wall walk. The main wing features a finely-carved Tudor chimney (dated 1641). Machicolations in this wing contain several musket holes.

References

External links

Castle hotel website
{{Dalcassians Castles in County Clare Ruins in the Republic of Ireland