Glencastle () is a small village in the northwest of

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the yew trees") is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Counci ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. The townland incorporates an area of .

Topography

Glencastle is a mountain valley which was once known as the gateway to the Mullet Peninsula. In the middle of this glen stands an ancient fort called "Dun Donnell" or the fort of Domhnall. Domhnall was, according to legend, of the

Gamanraige The Gamanraige were the main branch of the Fir Ol nEchmacht, a people who ruled much of Ireland west of the Shannon in the pre-historic era. The Gamanraige ruled the territory between the Gallimhe or Galway river, to the Drowes and Duff rivers in ...

tribe and an ascendant of

Ailill Finn Ailill Finn, son of Art mac Lugdach, was, according to medieval Irish legend and historical tradition, a High King of Ireland. In the ''Lebor Gabála Érenn'', he succeeded to the throne when his father was killed by Fíachu Tolgrach and his s ...

, the husband of Flidhais, and involved in the tale of

Táin Bó Flidhais ''Táin Bó Flidhais'', also known as the ''Mayo Táin'', is a tale from the Ulster Cycle of early Irish literature. It is one of a group of works known as Táin Bó, or "cattle raid" stories, the best known of which is '' Táin Bó Cúailnge' ...

. There are views of

Broadhaven Bay Broadhaven Bay ( ga, Cnocán na Líne) is a natural bay of the Atlantic Ocean on the northwestern coast of County Mayo, Ireland. The opening of the bay faces northward, stretching 8.6 km between Erris Head in the west and Kid Island/Oileá ...

and

Blacksod Bay Blacksod Bay ( ga, Cuan an Fhóid Duibh) is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean in Erris, north County Mayo, Ireland. The long and wide bay is bounded on its western side by the Mullet Peninsula. Its eastern side includes Kiltane Parish, which exten ...

from the fort. As part of the cycle of Celtic

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, rangin ...

and legends, Domhnall used to close the gates of

Erris Erris is a barony in northwestern County Mayo in Ireland consisting of over , much of which is mountainous blanket bog. It has extensive sea coasts along its west and north boundaries. The main towns are Belmullet and Bangor Erris. The name ...

at night levying tolls on passers-by. The remains of this fortification are now three large mounds which have never been archaeologically investigated.

History

The O'Caithnaidhs, who were chiefs of Erris before the

Norman Invasion The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the C ...

in the 12th century AD, had their stronghold in Glencastle. They were defeated by the O'Connors who then took over the fort until 1303 when it was conquered by the Barrett Normans. In 1540, the Barrett's castle in Glencastle was so well known that the English called Erris, 'Arrus Dundohmnaill'. For the next two hundred years, the Barretts wielded their influence in Church and civil affairs. There are several earlier archaeological monuments recorded in this village, but with the landscape destruction of the 21st century, it is doubtful if these are still in existence. It is recorded by engineer Patrick Knight that when the Belmullet/Bangor road was being made in the 1820s, that they "unnecessarily destroyed the fine

dolmen A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were some ...

in the glen rather than divert the road a few feet to one side."

Thomas Johnson Westropp Thomas Johnson Westropp (16 August 18609 April 1922) was an Irish antiquarian, folklorist and archaeologist. Career Westropp was born on 16 August 1860 at Attyflin Park, Patrickswell, County Limerick. His relatives were landowners of English ...

, a purveyor of

antiquities Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. Artifacts from earlier periods such as the Meso ...

on the western seaboard, who visited the Erris area in the early 20th century wrote the following of Glencastle in 1911: :"''It is a beautiful spot, especially after the dreary drive through barren moors from

Crossmolina Crossmolina is a town in the Barony of Tyrawley in County Mayo, Ireland, as well as the name of the parish in which Crossmolina is situated. The town sits on the River Deel near the northern shore of Lough Conn. Crossmolina is about west o ...

through Bangor. We suddenly dip into a stream runnel and, without preparation drop into a lovely wooded glen, at first so narrow that there is barely room for the road and the brook; we pass a regular brown dyke of volcanic rock and a thickly-wooded hillside, hovered over by hawks, and reach the more open valley, the 'Gates of Erris'. In its centre a grassy moat-like mass of rock was upheaved by some remote eruption. The east face is covered with hazels and birch, the upper trees growing out of the side to keep the shelter of the fort rising over 90 feet above the stream. To the north, a great mountain swells up for 760 feet facing the glen and its keeper. A second mound, like an overturned boat lies further down the valley"''

References

* Knight, Patrick. ''Erris in the Irish Highlands'' (1835) Dublin * McDonnell, Bishop, ''Diocese of Killala'' p. 46 * Noone, Fr. Sean, ''Where the Sun Sets'' (1991) Kildare * O'Donovan, ''Ordnance Survey Letters Vol. 1.'' p. 157 * Westropp, T. J. The Promontory Forts of Ireland. Vol. 49 Pt. 2 p. 137 {{coord, 54, 11, N, 9, 53, W, display=title, region:IE_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Towns and villages in County Mayo