What is recorded here

Mnemo records Ballykelly Castle as a ruined tower house in County Clare, Ireland. The distinction matters because a castle may be a palace, fortress or mansion, while a tower house points to a narrow residential and defensive building. That small factual difference removes the invented foreign name and returns the story to the place actually named.

See attached document with details from Risteárd Ua Cróinín and Martin Breen, The Castles and Tower-houses of Co. Clare (unpublished report). Uploaded courtesy of R. Ua Cróinín and M. Breen. Date of upload: 16 December 2014

Ballykelly Castle was built in the late 16th or early 17th century by the MacNamara lords of Clare. It is remembered as a significant example of a Gaelic tower house, reflecting the defensive and social structures of the time in west Clare.

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