Carrickkildavnet Castle or Kildavnet 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, to command and defend strategic points ...

and

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

located in

Achill Island Achill Island (; ) is an island off the west coast of Ireland in the historical barony of Burrishoole, County Mayo. It is the largest of the Irish isles and has an area of approximately . Achill had a population of 2,345 in the 2022 census. ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Location

Carrickkildavnet Castle is located in the southeast corner of

, across from the

Corraun Peninsula The Corraun Peninsula, also spelt Currane ( Irish:''An Corrán'' ), is a peninsula in County Mayo, on the west coast of Ireland. It extends out from the mainland towards Achill Island. Thoroughfares on the peninsula include the Great Western G ...

. This is an important strategic site, protecting the mouth of

Achill Sound ''Gob an Choire'' or ''Gob a' Choire'' (English name: Achill Sound), formerly anglicised as ''Gubacurra'', is a Gaeltacht village in County Mayo, Ireland. It lies on the east coast of Achill Island and is the first settlement one reaches after ...

and the passage that connects

Clew Bay Clew Bay (; ) is a large ocean bay on the Atlantic coast of County Mayo, Ireland. It is roughly rectangular and has more than a hundred small islands on its landward side; Ireland's best example of sunken drumlins. The larger Clare Island guar ...

with

Blacksod Bay Blacksod Bay () 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 extends southwards from Belmul ...

History

Carrickkildavnet Castle was built c. 1429 by the Ó Máille (O'Malley),

Kings of Umaill The Kings of Umaill were rulers of Umaill, a kingdom or territory located in the west of what is now County Mayo, Ireland. Its earliest rulers were the semi-historical Tuath mhac nUmhoir. The Umaill, its early historical rulers, were renamed ...

. It was later the stronghold of Gráinne Ní Mháille (Grace O'Malley, c. 1530 – c. 1603), the famous "pirate queen." Her other strongholds were at

Rockfleet Castle Rockfleet Castle, or Carrickahowley Castle ( Irish: ''Carraig an Chabhlaigh''), is a tower house near Newport in County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, ...

(on

) and

Clare Island Clare Island ( or ''Oileán Chliara''), also historically Inishcleer, is a mountainous island guarding the entrance to Clew Bay in County Mayo, Ireland. Historically part of the kingdom of Umhaill, it is famous as the home of the 16th century p ...

Building

It is a

of four storeys' height. It is

vaulted In architecture, a vault (French ''voûte'', from Italian ''volta'') is a self-supporting arched form, usually of stone or brick, serving to cover a space with a ceiling or roof. As in building an arch, a temporary support is needed while ring ...

above the first floor and a hole at the corner of this vault is the only access to the higher levels, presumably for defensive reasons. Other defensive features include a

mural chamber A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...

machicolation In architecture, a machicolation () is an opening between the supporting corbels of a battlement through which defenders could target attackers who had reached the base of the defensive wall. A smaller related structure that only protects key ...

, defensive loops,

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

fortifications at the top and a ruined

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 s ...

wall.

Gallery

Carrickkildavnet Castle.jpg, Castle with

and Corraun Hill beyond Carrick Kildavnet Castle - geograph.org.uk - 471756.jpg, View of the tower house

References

National monuments in County Mayo Castles in County Mayo Tower houses in the Republic of Ireland {{Ireland-castle-stub