What is recorded here

Croghan Castle remains unclassified because no source clearly identifies the structure, although Tomaltach Mac Tadhg Mac Rory Og and his descendants held thousands of acres there during the sixteenth century. Tomaltach Og may have owned Carigoreran Castle near Drumharlow in 1617, perhaps the ancestor of later Croghan House. The men are recorded, the land is measured, and the castle resists definition.

Tomaltach Mac Tadhg Mac Rory Og (died 1566), uncle of Brian of the Carrick (Chief of Moylurg 1585-92), had numerous sons who received pardons which described them as 'of Croghan' and are mentioned in the Composition Book of Connaught, dated 1585, as of Croghan. Tomaltach Mac Tomaltach (died 1590) had 15 quarters (about 3000 acres) at Croghan at the time of his death. None of these references mention a castle, but Tomaltach's son, Tomaltach Og, had 9.5 quarters in 1617, largely around Drumharlow, and also possessed Carigoreran Castle, which is not identified but it may have been where Croghan House was later built. (Mac Dermot 1996, 454-5) Compiled by: Michael Moore Date of upload: 24 August 2010

Tomaltach Mac Tadhg Mac Rory Og, an Irish Gaelic lord active in the mid-16th century, held a castle in Croghan, which is associated with the MacRory family of Moylurg. The site is historically significant due to its connection with the Gaelic nobility of the region and the political dynamics of the time, as evidenced by pardon records and the Composition Book.

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