What is recorded here

Lackagh Beg stood in Carnoneen during the 1570s as a compact stone box for Thomas Balve, but human impatience and decay erased it completely. The castle left no visible trace despite claims of a hidden passage, proving that even small strongholds can vanish without a whisper.

To S of the main Galway-Roscommon road in a house cluster called 'Carnoneen'. In existence in 1574 when 'Qworanonyn' castle was in the possession of 'Thomas Balve' (Nolan 1901b, 118). Marked on 3rd ed. of OS 6-inch map (1934) as a small unroofed rectangular structure (c. 10m by c. 5m), immediately WSW of the RC church. Described in OS Letters (O'Flanagan 1927, Vol. 1, 288) as 'a small castle nearly destroyed', and by Nolan (1901a, 39-40) as 'a low, uninteresting ruin without even a loophole. Walls 5 feet [1.5m] thick, only measureable side 24 feet [7.3m], probable cubic contents 35,000 feet [10,668m]: is on rather high ground'. According to local information, it was demolished some 20 years ago due to its dangerous condition. No visible surface trace survives. A possible Man-made underground passage (GA070-090----) is associated. 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

Thomas Balve held Lackagh Beg Castle in 1574; it is remembered as part of the historical landscape of west Ireland during the late 16th century.

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