What is recorded here

O'Flynn's Castle stood on the southeast edge of a flat-topped hill in County Roscommon, belonging to chiefs of Siol Maolruain who attended O'Conor inaugurations before declining after the fourteenth century. A low boundary wall between two modern properties may still hold part of its foundation, while the rest has vanished beneath the lawn of a house. The castle did not disappear so much as it stopped being visible to everyone except the people who lived beside it.

Marked on the 1837 and 1928 eds of the OS 6-inch map and described as Ballylough or O'Flynn's Castle in gothic lettering on both. It is situated towards the SE edge of a flat-toped hill. The O'Flynn were chiefs of Siol Maolruain, a sept of the Uí Brionn, but were not of Silmurry although they attended O'Conor inaugurations. The sept went into decline after the fourteenth century, but they retained lands around Lough O'Flynn. They were also erenaghs of Assylin church (RO005-020001-) near Boyle (MacDermot 1996, 409-10). The foundation of a portion of the castle was visible (Gannon 1972) but it is not visible now on the lawn of a house, although a low wall (Wth c. 0.5m; H 0.3m; L c. 10m) on the boundary between two properties is thought to be part of it. Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 24 August 2010

The castle was built by the O'Flynn family, who were chiefs of the Siol Muimhne, an important Gaelic kindred in medieval Ireland. It is remembered as a local stronghold associated with the O'Flynn lineage and is notable for its persistent representation on Ordnance Survey maps from 1837.

The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.