Fiddaun 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 ...

in Tubber, County Galway, close to the border 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 118,81 ...

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 a National Monument of Ireland.

Name

''Fiodh Duin'' means "wood of the fort" in Irish.

Geography

Fiddaun Castle is situated between Lough Doo and Lough Aslaun near the modern village of Tubber.

History

Fiddaun is a mid-16th century Irish

in the

Kiltartan Kiltartan is a barony and civil parish in County Galway, Ireland. The southern portion of this barony was formerly known as Cenél Áeda na hEchtge or O'Shaughnessy's Country, the northern portion was called Coill Ua bhFiachrach (the territory o ...

barony of the

Uí Fiachrach Aidhne Uí Fhiachrach Aidhne (also known as Hy Fiachrach) was a kingdom located in what is now the south of County Galway. Legendary origins and geography Originally known as Aidhne, it was said to have been settled by the mythical Fir Bolg. Dubhalta ...

, one of four

O'Shaughnessy Ó Seachnasaigh, O'Shaughnessy, collectively Uí Sheachnasaigh, clan name Cinél nAedha na hEchtghe, is a family surname of Irish origin. The name is found primarily in County Galway and County Limerick. Their name derives from Seachnasach ma ...

castles. Fiddaun was most likely built by Sir

Roger Gilla Dubh Ó Seachnasaigh Sir Ruadhri Gilla Dubh Ó Seachnasaigh (anglicized ''Roger Gilla Duff O'Shaughnessy'') was Chief of the Name during 1583–1650. Biography Ó Seachnasaigh was married to Elis Lynch at the time of his father's death, by whom he had his heir, Sir ...

, as he is the first mentioned living there and it is not known before his time.

Today

This tower house is most noted for its well preserved inner bawn wall. It is located on private land and maintained by 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 ...

References

{{coord, 53, 0, 38, N, 8, 52, 43, W, display=title, region:IE_type:landmark_source:dewiki Castles in County Galway Ruins in the Republic of Ireland National Monuments in County Galway O'Shaughnessy family