Oranmore Castle: A Fifteenth-Century Tower House in Ireland
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4
- Popularity
- Very Low
- Country
- Ireland
- Primary era
- Medieval
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Modern
- Civilizations
- Norman
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page10 sections
History
Oranmore Castle is a rectangular tower house in Oranmore, Ireland, probably built around the fifteenth century as a fortified residence and stronghold of the Clanricardes, a prominent family associated with County Galway. It may have replaced an older fortified house.
The Clanricarde stronghold
The castle was used by the Clanricardes as a military and residential base. Clanricarde was also a title held by members of the family, including the marquess and fifth Earl of Clanricarde who owned Oranmore during the rebellion that began in 1641.
Confederate Ireland and the Galway conflict
In March 1642, Oranmore joined Confederate Ireland, the Irish confederate government and political-military movement formed during the rebellion. The marquess and fifth Earl opposed this development. The marquess supplied the Fort of Galway by sea until 1643, when Captain Willoughby, the military governor of Galway, surrendered the fort without his authorization.
Later ownership and abandonment
The sixth Earl of Clanricarde later recovered possession of the castle after a temporary loss of ownership. In 1666, he leased Oranmore to Walter Athy, whose descendants retained control until 1853. That year, Walter Blake’s estates were sold to pay debts, and the castle was subsequently abandoned. The Blake family had built a separate house on the south side, but it was already in ruins when the family left Oranmore.
Renewal in the twentieth century
Anita Leslie, a writer, bought the neglected castle in 1947 for 200 pounds sterling and had it reroofed. Between 1950 and 1960, she and her husband, Bill King, added two storeys to one wing. A fire destroyed the new roof in 1964. Leslie’s daughter Leonie later inherited the castle and lived there with her husband, the Irish folk musician Alec Finn.
Remains
Fortified tower house
Oranmore Castle survives as a rectangular tower house of four storeys. Its defensive design includes a square staircase turret and gunloops, narrow openings in the lowest storey through which firearms could be used. The roof was renewed in 1947 after the building had fallen into severe disrepair, but that replacement roof was destroyed by fire in 1964.
Later additions and associated buildings
Added wing
A two-storey wing was added between 1950 and 1960. The extension altered the castle’s historic form while remaining attached to the surviving tower-house structure.
Blake family house
A separate house built by the Blake family stood on the south side of the castle. It had become a ruin by the time the family abandoned the site.
Nearby sites
