O'Dea Castle, also known as Dysert O'Dea Castle, is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

fortified

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 ...

, loosely described as a castle at Dysert O'Dea (), the former O'Dea clan stronghold, from Corofin,

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 ...

.Caisleán Uí Dheá

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. Retrieved 22 November 2011. It was built between 1470 and 1490 by Diarmaid O'Dea, Lord of Cineal Fearmaic, and stands some high on a limestone outcrop base measuring .''Dysart O'Dea Castle, Co. Clare'' by Risteard Ua Croinin and Martin Breen, ''The Other Clare'', Volume 9, page 17. Shannon Archaeological and Historical Society, April 1985. The tower is adjacent to Dysert O'Dea Monastery, close to the R476 road.

History

The Battle of Dysert O'Dea, which drove the

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from the region for over 200 years, took place at this site on 10 May 1318. The castle was built between 1470 and 1490 by Diarmaid O'Dea, Lord of Cineal Fearmaic. The Earl of Ormond took the castle from the O'Dea clan in 1570 by force. By 1584, however, they had regained it. At that time, Domhnall Maol O'Dea was listed as owner. Domhnall supported the northern Chiefs in the Nine Years' War of 1594-1603 and subsequently Dysert Castle fell to the

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, Daniel Neylon, who in 1594 bequeathed it to his son, John. The castle soon returned to the O'Dea clan. Conor Cron O'Dea supported the Confederates and participated in the successful siege of Ballyalla Castle in 1642. After the fall of Limerick in 1651 to the

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forces, they maintained a small garrison here. When they left, the soldiers demolished the battlements, upper floors and staircase. The Neylon family then returned but during the reign of Charles II, Conor Cron O'Dea regained the castle. Conor's sons, Michael and James, supported the cause of James II and once again lost the castle. The lands passed to the Synge family but the castle eventually and gradually fell into ruin. In 1970, John O'Day of

Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin Wisconsin Rapids is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, Wisconsin. The population was 18,877 at the 2020 census. The city also forms one of the core areas of the United States Census Bureau's Marshfield-Wisconsin Rapids Micropolit ...

(USA) purchased the tower and had it restored. The castle was then leased to the Dysert Development Association, which, with support from the Irish Tourist Board, opened it as "The Dysert O'Dea Castle Archaeology Centre" in 1986. It showed an exhibition of local artefacts from the Stone Age to 1922.

Today

Today, the centre is known as the ''Clare Archaeology Centre'', with exhibits of local archaeological artefacts from 1000 BC to 1700 AD, local history over the last three centuries, and a wall walk of parts of the castle. The Dysert O'Dea Archeology Trail includes sites around the tower, including the remains of the Dysert O'Dea Monastery.

References

External links

Clare Archaeology Centre
– official site
O'Dea Clan Site
{{authority control Castles in County Clare Historic house museums in the Republic of Ireland Museums in County Clare Archaeological museums in the Republic of Ireland Tower houses in the Republic of Ireland

History

Today

See also

References

Further reading

External links