Ballybrit Castle

This is without doubt the most timely post I've ever done.

Starting this evening is the world famous Galway races.

Ballybrit Castle is located inside the racing circuit at Galway racecourse.

Not much is publicly known about the ruin.
What is know is that the castle is a de Burgo house.
Rectangular in shape the walls are said to be 1.5 meters in thickness.
The ruin rises to a height of 13.7 meters and is said to have a spiral like staircase inside.
Looking at the castle you are left in no doubt that this was a castle built to defend.

Access - As stated above the castle is on the grounds of Galway racecourse.
My visit was a working one over two separate days. 
 

Claregalway Friary

The vast ruin of Clairegalway Friary stands overlooking the river Claire as you leave the village of Clairegalway travelling north on the N17.

The Friary dates back to the 13th Century and was built by John de Cogan.
The Franciscan community lived under the patronage of the de Cogan clan until 1327, when
de Cogan gave them the building and surrounding lands.

The following years saw the friary flourish in numbers and wealth.

The ruined state of the friary is mostly a result of two major happenings in the 16th Century.
In 1538 Henry VIII sent Lord Leonard Gray to Galway.
It is recorded that the friary at Claregalway was rifled by Gray’s troops on their way to Galway.
In 1589 Sir Richard Bingham, the English governor of Connaught,  cleared the friary and used the building as a barracks.

By 1641 the Franciscans had returned to the friary.
A failed attempt was made to rebuild.
From then on their numbers declined so that by 1838 the friary was down to two members.    

In 1892 Lord Clanmorris donated the property to the Commissioner of Public Works

The Franciscan friary consists of a nave,choir, north aisle and transept. 
The square bell tower is the most striking feature of the friary and is dated to the 15th Century.
It is 24 meters in height.
All other parts that survive today of the structure were built in phases during the friary's time of prosperity.

Access - The friary can be spotted from the main road (on your left) as you leave Claregalway heading north on the N17.
Parking can be found in the car park which is right beside the graveyard and ruin. 

Cloughanover Castle

The history of Cloughanover Castle is pretty much a mystery.
The couple of scraps of information I have found are below.


What is known is that the castle was built as a stronghold by the Anglo-Norman de Burgo family in 1450.

It is claimed that Cloughanover Castle was destroyed by Cromwellian forces in the 17th century.

Not very much remains today, but the fireplace and entrance to the castle latrines/toilets can be seen clearly in (image 3).

Access - The ruin is visable on the right coming from Galway heading towards Headford on the N84.
Take a right turn before the petrol station.  This will bring you to Cambells Tavern in Cloughanover
Cloughanover Castle is just across a couple of fields from Cambells Tavern.

Tawnatruffaun Portal Tomb

The superb portal tomb of Tawnatruffaun is a must see if you find yourself in County Sligo.
The tomb which is also known as The Giant's Griddle is fittingly located in a very open clearing on a small rise.


The slab like capstone is close to 3 meters in length and it rest's on two similar portal stones 1.5 meters high.
One of the side stones has been removed but like the boundary wall built either side of the tomb it in no way takes away from this great site.

Tawnatruffaun like Ireland's other great tombs will keep you longer at the site than you probably  expected.

Unusual for one of my Blog post these images were taken of an evening time - most  of my site visits happen on the way to work so mornings tend to be the majority.  
So as an added bonus I had the  company of my son Daire, who got to see his first tomb up close.  


Access - The tomb is visible from the road, you walk across a field to the site. 
The ground close to and around the tomb looks like it could be quite boggy after wet weather.

Kilbennan Round Tower

Kilbennan is said to have been the site of a 5th Century monastery. 
The old monastery was founded by St. Benan or Benignus, St. Patrick's successor at Armagh.

The very eye catching tower is dated to the 10th Century and is built from rough coursed limestone. 
Strangely no mention of the tower is made in the records of the burning of the site in 1114.
The tower at it's highest point is over 16 meters in height, the base is close to 5 meters in diameter.
The doorway is over 4 meters from ground level and is plain in it's design.
This tower always brings a smile to my face, as my daughter pointed out on my latest visit "the tower looks like Pacman took a bite out of it".

The church is dated to the 14th Century when the Franciscans founded a monastery on the site.

Access - The tower is visible from the R332 Tuam Ballinrobe road, parking can be found opposite the site in the more modern church car park. 


 

Menlo Castle

Menlo Castle dated 15thCentury is a vast ruin that is located on the bank's of the River Corrib.
The Castle was built in 1569 and was the main home of the Blake family.
The Blake family were one of the famous Tribes of Galway. 

The Blake's remained at Menlo until 1910 when the castle accidentally and tragically burned down.
Killed in the fire was Eleanor Blake the only daughter of  Lord Valentine Blake.

As a result of the fire the castle was totally gutted and what you see today is all that was left.
The wall's of the ruin are mostly covered in ivy, with some of the opinion that it is this very ivy that holds Menlo together.

Access - The turn for the castle is just before Terryland as you travel on the N84 heading towards Galway.
From the main road you are left a short drive to the old entrance (bottom image).
Parking for a couple of cars can be had close to the cattle gate and leaves you with a short walk down to the castle.

To view the castle from the far side of the River Corrib turn off the N59 for the National University of Galway.         

Oranmore Castle

Oranmore Castle, County Galway is dated to the 15th Century but is thought to have been built on the site of an earlier castle.
The castle was a stronghold of the Clanricardes, a prominent Norman family in Galway.  

The castle under the lordship of the fifth Earl Clanricardes played a major role in the Confederate Rebellion in the 1640's.
Oranmore was surrendered in 1643 by Captain Willoughby.
This was done without the knowledge or permission of the Marquess.
In 1651 the castle was surrendered to the Parliamentary forces.

The successor of the Marquess the 6th Earl regained the castle and in 1666 he leased Oranmore to Walter Athy.
Oranmore through marriage passed to the Blake family of Mayo.
The castle stayed in the care of the Blake's  until 1853 when it was abandoned.

Oranmore was purchased in 1947 by Lady Leslie, and the castle has remained in her family's care to date.

Access - The castle is well signposted from the main street in Oranmore.
As the castle dominates the coastline you won't need any help.
Oranmore can be visited at times during the summer.
Booking ahead would be advisable as the castle amongst other things is considered to be haunted.   

 
   

Drumanone Portal Tomb

This was a revisit to Drumanone as my first attempt to photograph this site left me with mixed results.
I am not sure how these measure up as I lost my original images on a lap top (that had not been backed up).

Drumanone despite having it's capstone badly slipped is still a very striking tomb.
The two portal stones are over two meters high.
The slightly smaller door slab stands snugly between the two portals.
The two side stones have moved probably as a result of the capstone slipping.
The massive Capstone is about 4.5 meters in length and just under 4 meters in width.

Drumanone is not one of Ireland's most famous tombs but it really is worth a visit.
The tomb has a real presence about it that will stay with you.

Access - Getting to the site is pretty easy even though you have to cross a railway line.
The pathway that leads up to the railway crossing has an old house in ruin that you can park beside.
Make sure to close gates and mind yourself at the crossing.
 

Annaghdown Castle

The recently restored castle of Annaghdown can be found on the eastern shore of Lough Corrib.

The castle is said to date back to the 14th Century and is thought to have been built by the O'Flaherty clan, or depending where you read it may have been the Archbishop of Tuam in 1421.

When built the castle was used to control lake traffic to and from Galway city as roadways were not built until much later.

The original castle is said to have been five stories high with a murder hole.
What you see today looks to be four stories high.

Ray Cook of Galway bought the castle from Lady Cusack-Smith for £2.000 in the 1970's.
What can be seen today is the result of the restoration carried out by Ray and family in a later style than the original castle.

Access - The castle is a short drive from Corrandulla.
You will be able to see the site peeping above a line of tree's as you near the village of Annaghdown.
The castle is on private land, so please make sure to ask for permission to visit the site.  

    

Kilmacduagh Monastery

St Colman's Church (Templebeg MacDuagh)

The Cathedral (Templemore Mac Duagh)

The Church of St John the Baptist (Teampuill Owen)

Teampuill Owen and Glebe House

St Mary's Church (Temple Mary)

The O'Heyne's Church

The stunning Kilmacduagh monastery was founded by St Colman in the 7thCentury.

Famed as the tallest round tower in Ireland Kilmacduagh is 34 meters in height with the doorway set 7 meters above ground level.
The walls at the base are said to be just under 2 meters in thickness. 
The tower is dated from the 12th Centurty. 
The tower has quite a visible lean to it - said to be 0.5 meter from the vertical.

The biggest church building on the site is the cathedral ( Templemore Mac Duagh). dated between the 11th and 12th Century. Not having too much time and the fact the gate into the the cathedral was locked I was unable to get a close up of the interior.

The Church of St John the Baptist (Teampuill Owen) is in the field next to cathedral.  
It dates from the 10th Century which would make this church the oldest building on the site.

The Glebe House is in the same field as Teampuill Owen. 
Dated the 14th Century it is thought to have been the Abbots living quarters.
The building has a real fortified look to it. 
For closer inspection a key can be obtained from a local B&B to visit the inside.

The building in the foreground of the lead image is St Colman's church (Templebeg MacDuagh). 
Information is pretty hard to come by about this church.
To be honest only that I was looking for something a bit different for the tower shot I don't think I would have come across this church.

St Mary's church (Temple Mary)13th Century is divided from the rest of the site by a road. 
For those with more time a key can be got from the above mentioned local B&B to explore more.

Located at the furthest point from the round tower is The O'Heyne's Church 13th Century. 
Again this church was locked up on the day of my visit but looks to have some very nice features inside.

Access - Kilmacduagh is a short drive from Gort, Co Galway.  
The site is signposted with plenty of parking available. 
You will see the site from a long way off due to the round tower.