What is recorded here

Castle in ruins, Claretuam: A medieval castle reduced to a mortared block inside a field wall, still identified near Claretuam Bridge in County Galway. It belonged to Redmund McMoyler McRic in 1574, beside a church and an old river crossing. The castle has not disappeared so much as it has been absorbed, its walls broken open and reused until the whole structure became a room without a house.

In level grassland at Claretuam, a shrunken house cluster of possible medieval origin. It stood just W of 'Claretuam Bridge', an old crossing point on a tributary of the Clare River. In existence in 1574 when it was in the possession of 'Redmund McMoyler McRic' (Nolan 1901b, 118). According to OS Letters (O'Flanagan 1927, Vol. 1, 125), 'A small fragment of this castle is still pointed out within a small garden'. All that now survives is a block of mortared masonry (L 1.7m, Wth 1.3m, H 1.9m) incorporated in a field wall. A church (GA043-037----) lay 160m to NW. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Galway Vol. II - North Galway'. Compiled by Olive Alcock, Kathy de hÓra and Paul Gosling (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1999). Date of upload: 05 August 2010

Built in the medieval period, likely by a local landholding family, Castle in ruins, Claretuam is remembered for its strategic position near Claretuam Bridge, an important crossing point on a tributary of the Clare River, indicating its role in regional trade or defense.

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