Moygara Castle: An O’Gara Stronghold in Ireland
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.6
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Ireland
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Irish
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page7 sections
History
Moygara Castle is a medieval O’Gara stronghold in Ireland, beside Loch Gara in County Sligo. First mentioned in 1285, it was built by the O’Gara clan to protect its lands and became the first of three castles established by the clan around the lake.
Foundation and O’Gara control
Moygara Castle stood on the northwestern shore of the lake, near Mullayro, on the site of an earlier defensive structure whose nature remains uncertain. It may have been a ringfort, an enclosed Irish settlement or defensive site surrounded by a circular bank and ditch. The lake was formerly called Loch Tehnet. Its later name came from the clan living along its shores, while that clan became known as O’Gara. The lake is now known as Loch Gara.
Medieval expansion
During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the castle was enlarged by the addition of corner towers. This expansion strengthened the earlier rectangular complex and developed its defensive character.
Attacks and destruction
The O’Donnell clan attacked Moygara Castle in 1538. In 1581, a Scottish mercenary army assaulted it, setting the castle on fire and causing severe damage. The O’Gara clan later supported the Irish uprising of 1641. Forces under Oliver Cromwell, an English parliamentarian and military commander who led campaigns in Ireland during the mid-seventeenth-century conflict, subsequently besieged the castle and damaged it further during the assault.
Local tradition links the castle with a violent reprisal after an attack was repelled. According to the story, the O’Gara chief hanged the attackers from a tall plane tree near the castle. Another legend says that the castle possessed golden gates, which were submerged in Loch Gara to prevent them from falling into enemy hands.
Remains
Moygara Castle is now a ruin beside the northwestern shore of Loch Gara. The earliest surviving arrangement was a rectangular structure with a tower on its northern side. Later corner towers were added during the castle’s fourteenth- and fifteenth-century expansion, creating a more substantial fortified complex.
Northern tower and gateway
The northern tower contained the entrance gateway, which survives in scant ruins. A drawing made by the artist Wakeman in 1878 shows a relief on the tower with two figures whose limbs are interwoven. One of the figures holds an unidentified object.
Archaeological remains
Excavations carried out in 2013 revealed traces of moats and smelting furnaces within the castle area. These remains add evidence of the defensive layout and working activity associated with the ruin.
Nearby sites
