What is recorded here

Castle, unclassified in Ballinlough stands in County Longford, Ireland. Walter Alexander received it in 1622. Mathias Ffowle lived there when rebels attacked in 1641. The exact spot has slipped from view, but the name still points back through the loss.

In 1622, as part of the Plantation of Longford, Walter Alexander was granted the ‘castle of Ballynlagh alias Ballinlogh’ (Cal. pat. rolls., Jas. 1, 551). It is depicted as a tower house-type structure on an early 17th-century map of Granard barony (BL, Cotton MS Augustus I.i.47). On this map another castle (LF010-029001-) is shown in the adjoining townland of Coolcor to the E. In 1641 the castle and bawn were the residence of Mathias Ffowle when it was attacked by Irish rebels (TCD, MS 817, fol. 167v). Its precise location has not been identified but Ballinlough House, which is c. 620m W of the castle in Coolcor, may have been built on its site or in close proximity to it. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien Date of upload: 26 September 2012

Walter Alexander was granted Castle Ballinlough in 1622 during the Plantation of Longford. It is remembered as an example of early 17th-century Anglo-Irish tower house architecture in the region.

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