Killeen Castle () is a 15th-century

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 ...

in Killeen

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

, near

Castlegar, County Galway Castlegar () is a village and electoral division in County Galway, just outside the city of Galway, in Ireland. Castlegar is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora. It extends from Lough ...

, on the western coast of

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 ...

. Originally built in 1493, the tower house and surrounding estate is historically associated with Blake family, one of the 14

tribes of Galway The Tribes of Galway () were 14 merchant families who dominated the political, commercial and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the mid-13th and late 19th centuries. They were the families of Athy, Blake, Bodkin, Brown ...

. A farmhouse was constructed abutting the western wall of the tower house during the 19th century, A large house was constructed on a hill to the north of the tower house, and with a gatehouse built on the N17 road. This large house (Killeen House) was burned down in 1922, together with many similar country houses of landed families, and subsequently demolished. The land and castle was later purchased by a farmer from Tuam who had been managing the estate. The castle was sold and passed through several owners in the late 20th century, being extended and converted into a private residence.

References

{{coords, 53.3128, -8.9787, display=title Castles in County Galway