Meelick Round Tower

Of the many round towers I have been lucky to visit Meelick Round Tower would have to be in my top 10 favourite tower sites.

The tower is 22 meters high with the doorway just under 3.5 meters from the base.
The brick work on the tower is sandstone, but looks like it has been scraped or blasted (which gives the stone a very bare look).

The tower is thought to have been built between the mid 9th Century and early 10th Century and is located on a monastic site associated with St Broccaidh.

At the base of the tower is a headstone which bears the inscription Or Oit Do Grieni (a prayer for Griene ).

Access -  The tower can be seen from the N5 on your left before Swinford heading north.
From there just follow one of the two roads that bring you to the tower.
Parking will not be a problem as the location is a graveyard that is still in use today.











    

  

Graigue Standing Stone

To be honest I was on my way to another site when I came across Graigue.
Having seen images of this standing stone I had always thought the site was far from the beaten track.    

This giant of a stone has split into two.
The larger of the slabs remains upright with the smaller one now at a forty five degree angle (resting on two large stones).
The upright stone is over 3.5 meters in height and over 2.5 meters in width.
The smaller slab is 3 meters in height and over 2 meters in width.

Access - The stone can be seen very clearly from the road, it is in a field just before you reach the quarry. Parking will be a problem as the road is very narrow, to get up close to the stone you will have to climb a bank (small) and hop over a fence.


  

Ballycarbery Castle

The stunning ruin of Ballycarbery Castle can be found a short drive from Cahersiveen Co Kerry.
The castle is dated from the 16th Century but is built on an earlier site thought to date from the 14th Century.

The castle was originally the seat of the MacCarthy Mor family.
Sources indicate that in the early 16th Century it was occupied by the O'Connells in their capacity as MacCarthy wardens.
From then the castle was passed onto Sir Valentine Browne following the death of its owner Daniel McCarthy Mor.

The majority of the castle wall were destroyed by Cromwell's forces in 1652 when it was fired on with cannons.

What you can see today gives you an idea of what a fantastic site Ballycarbery was when intact.


It would seem that this part of history has been forgotten as the ruin is in quite a bad state and in need of restoration.

Access - Parking can be found for a few cars quite close to the ruin.
The field the castle is in can sometimes have cattle in it so you will have to duck under a wire fence to get up close.

If you have time, you will find close by Cahergal Stone Fort  which is well worth checking out ! 

Knocknakilla Standing Stone

Knocknakilla Standing Stone can be found very close to the more well known and famous Knocknakilla Stone Circle.

The standing stone sits high in a field with good views all round.
The Stone is over 1.5 meters in height and has a very distinct rectangular shape.

To see the standing stone from the road you  need to be travelling north towards Glantane/Millstreet.
If you are coming from the other direction the stone will not be visible.

Access - from the road you walk up a drive way,  this leads you into the field that the stone is in.

This site is well worth checking out along with the many other more well known sites close by.

Ballinduff Castle

Ballinduff Castle Co Galway can be found just off the main Galway Headford  N84 road in the parish of Kilcoona.
This 14th Century tower house is said to have been built by the DeBurgo family.
The Castle ruin is located very close to what remains of an earlier monastic settlement.

Ballinduff Castle is mentioned in the "Annals of the Four Masters" for a battle between The Clanricarde and Red Hugh O'Donnell who was aided by the Mayo Burke clan.  Red Hugh was victorious in the battle against The Clanricarde.

 The castle is recorded as being sold to the Skerrett family in the late 16th Century.

Access- you can see the castle from the N84 (on your left going towards Headford).
To get to the ruin turn left on a bad bend, drive for approx 1 km and take another left.  A few hundred metres just past a large house on the left you should see the castle through a field gate.  

Tory Island Round Tower & The Tau Cross

The wonderful Tory Island is home to this round tower which along with the cross is all that remains of the once nearby St Colmcille's monastery.
The monastery and tower are both thought to date back to between the 6th and 7th Century.
The tower is just under 13 meters in height and is made of granite.
The top of the tower suffered extensive damage from a lightning bolt which struck the tower in the late 18th century.

The Tau Cross is made from one piece of mica slate, 1.9m high and 1.1m wide.
The cross stands beside the pier and dates from the 6th century (or some think maybe even earlier).
The cross is one of only four that is known to be in Ireland, the others can be found at Killegar church Co Wicklow, St Begnet's Church Co Dublin and St Catherines Church heritage centre Co Clare.
This cross at Tory is still of great importance to the people of the Island, many fishermen pray at it before setting off to sea.

Access - The ferry sails to the island a couple of times each day, the crossing takes about 35 minutes.
For all the sites I was lucky enough to visit in 2013 Tory Island was the total highlight of these, so what are you waiting for !!!  

   






    

Moyne Castle

This large spacious ruin of Moyne Castle is dated to the 16th Century, although a lot of what you can see today was added at a later stage.
The castle falls right on the Galway Mayo boarder with both county's claiming the castle, all I can say is when I google mapped the castle it fell on the Mayo side.
Either way it is signposted on your right coming from the main Headford - Cong  R334 road.

David MacJonyn (Jennings) Blake was owner in 1574, Ulick Earl of Clanricarde then got it by confiscation in 1585.
Richard  his successor got a re-grant of the castle, with four quarters of land in 1610.

The castle passed hands a few more times mostly staying in the Blake family until they moved to Merlin Park Galway.

Access - The hardest part of getting to see this castle is where to park, the road is very narrow and twisty so great care should be taken wherever you park as you make your way to and from the castle.