Merlinpark Castle: A Late Medieval Tower House in Ireland
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.2
- Popularity
- Low
- Country
- Ireland
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval
- Civilizations
- Unclassified
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page4 sections
History
Merlinpark Castle, also known as Merlin Castle, is a late medieval tower house in Ireland, located in Merlin Woods at Merlin Park, Galway. The fortified stone residence dates from the fifteenth or sixteenth century and stands on a site that may have held an earlier fortification associated with Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair, a medieval ruler of Connacht who also held the title of High King of Ireland.
From Doughiske to Merlinpark
The castle was known as Doughiske Castle until the eighteenth century. An early-twelfth-century attribution links a foundation at the site with Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair, although the tower house that survives belongs to a much later period. The Lynch family, also known as Ó Loingsigh, owned the castle in the sixteenth century.
Merlinpark Castle remained in residential use until the middle of the nineteenth century and was then in good condition. It is now an Irish national monument under the official name Merlinpark Castle, with reference number 609. The state is recorded as its owner.
Remains
Tower house
Merlinpark Castle is a tower house in the townland of Merlinpark, approximately 4 kilometres east-northeast of Galway city centre and close to the grounds of Merlin Park University Hospital. Its surviving structure represents the type of fortified stone residence commonly built in Ireland during the late medieval period.
The second floor contains the remains of a sheela na gig carving. This is a figurative architectural carving, usually depicting a female figure, whose precise religious or symbolic meaning remains debated.
Nearby sites
