Annaghdown Castle, Co Galway
Not in Bence-Jones
Annaghdown Castle is a restored tower house on the shores of Lough Corrib. Although there is little known about the Castle, research from its owners brought to light some interesting facts.
The castle is a 15th century Norman style tower house with carbon dating samples dating back to 1440. It was originally believed that the Castle was either built by the De Burgo family or the O’Flaherty clan but it had been discovered that the castle was in fact built for an Anglo-Norman bishop who was backed by the De Burgo’s.
http://www.megalithicireland.com/Annaghdown%20Castle,%20Galway.html
This recently restored tower house picturesquely located on the eastern shore of Lough Corrib was most likely erected by the O’Flaherty Clan in the late 14th century. Unfortunately, little is known of its history. The castle is battered at the base, with a pointed-arch south-facing doorway, and at one time was fortified by a murder hole, although with the recent renovations it was not possible to discern if the murder hole is still present. Prior to reconstruction there were only traces of bartizans at the corners of the south wall and another at the north-east corner, and no crenellations or roof. These items have been reconstructed for the current private dwelling. The east and west gables of the roof remain set back from the level of the main wall. The tower house has been described as five-stories, but in comparing the present structure to photos prior to the reconstruction, the window openings appear to be the same (although windows now fill the gaps), yet only four stories are apparent. From what we could discern, a straight stairway from a small entry chamber leads through the east wall to the first floor, and after that becomes spiral. Two things struck me – one is that although the castle appears quite large, it is amazingly smaller inside when one accounts for the thickness of the walls and the need for staircases in the walls. The other is that a level of care was taken in refitting this castle for modern living — while the interior is modernized, an attempt was made to reconstruct the exterior back to how it may have appeared when first built.
Annaghdown Castle seen above from the air is a 15th century Norman style tower house. The owners, Jessica Cooke and Sean Faughnan had parts of the castle carbon dated during their archaeological excavation of the site. The sample from the ground floor was dated to 1440.
It was traditionally assumed that Annaghdown Castle was probably built by the De Burgo family, some people even linked it with the O’Flaherty’s who were pushed westwards by the De Burghos.
Recently however, Jessica has undertaken more research and found out that Annaghdown Castle was actually built for an Anglo-Norman bishop who was backed by the DeBurgho’s. The bishop was settled across from the much older monastery in a statement about the ‘new order’.
Annaghdown had strategic importance. Holding Annaghdown meant controlling this part of the lakeand whoever had control here, controlled the access to Galway. The main access route to Galway was by water. The current road from Galway was not built until the early 20th century.
Main door at Annaghdown Castle. In the past there was a grate in front of it that could be pulled tight from the inside as an extra layer of defense.
Relationship With Annaghdown Monastery
The nearby monastery (first founded by Saint Brendan in the sixth century) had been the cathedral of the O’Flaherty’s. By the thirteenth century, the bishopric of Annaghdown was absorbed by the archdiocese of Tuam. Nonetheless, the monastery continued to be used into the late 1500’s, well after the Dissolution, supported by its own lands.
There must have been a bit of a stand off between the monastery and the newly built castle, but the monastery continued to thrive for some time.
In defiance of the Anglo-Norman bishop, a round tower was built at the monastery. Jessica Cookerecently discovered the foundations of the tower.
Near the castle was a holy well, Saint Brendan’s well, and the monks used to go on procession to the well for the saint’s feast day.
Irish castle, Annaghdown, County Galway, downstairs vaulted room, now used as a kitchen. Once upon a time this was a spance for storage or for housing animals.
The Irish Castle Is Sold And Modernized
At some stage the castle did end up in the hands of the DeBurgho’s. The De Burgos were a landowning Anglo-Norman family that owned a number of castles and moved from place to place throughout the year.
Sometime in the 16th century howerever, they sold the castle on to the Lynch family, another wealthy landowning family and one of the Galway tribes.
The Lynches were onee of the ‘Galway Tribes’ and were English speaking. They made money not only from the land, but also from trading; they imported wine for example. The Lynch family modernized the castle in the seventeenth-century style. They introduced more fireplaces, enlarged windows, added the minstrel’s gallery and changed the usage of rooms. The prison for example, was disused and became another room at this stage. Battlements were added aiding the guarding of the castle.
Jessica Cooke seen here guarding the battlements at her Irish castle at Annaghdown.
Jessica found a document in the Blosse-Lynch family papers relating to this period. Eilish Lynch wrote a letter to her husband, Roebuck Lynch informing him that she would soon be moving from one tower house to another, and consulting him on a number of practical issues in relation to this. Roebuck Lynch was a magistrate and away in Galway or Dublin on business a lot of the time, while Eilish was managing the various estates.
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The Fall From Grace
The Lynch family, namely Roebuck Lynch, refused to sign the Articles of Surrender after the Cromwellian invasion of Galway. Their lands were subsequently confiscated. Annaghdown Castle was ‘decommissioned’ by Cromwell’s soldiers. They pushed the battlements off and broke the main stair case. This beautiful medieval Irish castle was never lived in again. The estate was given to the Church of Ireland.
The last time the castle made history was during the Williamite wars in the late 17th century. In her research, Jessica came across an interesting document. It was the Crown’s pardon to George Stanton, the last defender of Annaghdown Castle which, even though no longer inhabited, had still been used as a strategic point of defense.
The Irish castle reconstruction at Annaghdown has seen the use of traditional materials and techniques, as reflected in this reconstructed timber door.
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http://historicsitesofireland.blogspot.com/2015/01/annaghdown-castle.html
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.
http://irishantiquities.bravehost.com/galway/annaghdown/annaghdown_castle.html
Map Reference: M288378 (1288, 2378)
Annaghdown Castle stands in Ballylee townland, about 200m to the south of the priory. It was probably erected after 1421 by the Archbishop of Tuam. It is an almost square tower standing five storeys high. It has undergone recent renovation and is not now open to the public. I visited the castle in 1986 and the photographs and notes date from that time. The doorway in the SE wall is protected by a good murder-hole leading from the first floor and by a small loop from the stairway. To the left is a low narrow chamber and a broad stairway rises to the right within the east wall as far as the first floor. Thereafter it becomes spiral and is intact as far as the second but fragmentary beyond that. There is a fireplace at the first floor and mural chambers in the south wall at the first and second floors. There is a vault above the second floor. A long passage in the north wall leads from the stairway between second and third floors. There are traces of bartizans at the corners of the south wall and another at the north-east corner. There are no crenellations. The castle is lit by small slits at the lower levels and two-light windows at the higher levels. There is the usual pecked decoration at the doorways. There is a slopstone at the second floor and a latrine chute exit at the base of the NW wall. The east and west gables are set back from the level of the main wall. There are traces of a gable level with the south wall and there may have been a similar north gable.
Irish Historic Houses 