Faunarooska Castle (in ruins)

In a high prominent location on the NW slopes of Slieve Elva, with commanding views from W to NE over the Aran Islands and much of Galway Bay. It is indicated and named ‘Faunarooska Castle (in ruins)’ on the 1842 and 1915 eds. of the OS 6-inch maps. It is not listed in the 16th-century lists (1570 and 1574) of Clare castles (Breen 1995) but is listed in 1583 as part of Sir Turlough O’Brien of Ennistymon’s estate, so was presumably built between 1574 and 1583 (Ua Cróinín and Breen 2014, 1). In 1641, it belonged to Fernandus Mac Felem and then, after the Cromwellian confiscations, it was granted to James Aylmer and Henry Ivers (Cunningham 1980, 25). The castle was in ruins by 1837 (Lewis 1837, 152). FitzPatrick (2009, 302) has suggested it may also have been an O’Loughlin residence. A poorly preserved circular tower house (int. diam. 4.25m; wall T 1.35m; max. H 5m) located on the S corner of a rectangular bawn (CL004-016036-) aligned NW-SE. The tower survives to 2.5 stories and is partially collapsed all around, particularly W-NE. It is constructed of roughly coursed undressed stones and yellow mortar and some external rendering is evident. An oval shot-hole (H 0.1m; Wth 0.07m) and a currently blocked gun loop (Wth 0.16m) occur in inwardly splaying embrasures (H 0.42m; Wth 0.62m and H 0.8m; Wth 0.8m) in the walls of the ground floor at ENE and SE. Above these embrasures part of a corbelled roof extends (L 0.5m) from the wall-face, indicating the former presence of a vaulted ceiling. The wall survives for another 1.5 stories (H 3m) above this but no further features are visible. On the NNW exterior face of the tower a well-dressed corbel extends out (L 0.27m), in line with where the bawn wall would have met with the castle. The tower was photographed by Dr G. U. MacNamara c. 1900 and at that time there were traces of vaults above the ground and 1st floors, and an intramural staircase running in an anti-clockwise direction (Ua Cróinín and Breen 2014, 1). Around the same time, Westropp further recorded a machicolation above the ground-floor door and a door on the 1st floor leading to the intramural stair (ibid.). The tower and bawn (CL004-016007-) lie at the S extent of an extensive multiperiod field system (CL004-016001-), covering an area of c. 8sq km. The following has been uploaded: CL004-016007-_01.pdf Details from Risteárd Ua Cróinín and Martin Breen, The Castles and Tower-houses of Co. Clare (unpublished report).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. CL004-016007- View from E. CL004-016007- Shot-hole at ENE. Compiled by: Mary Tunney and Ros Ó Maoldúin Date of upload: 23 February 2021

Faunarooska Castle was likely built by a local Gaelic family in the late medieval period, though specific builders remain unidentified. Its strategic location offers significant views over Galway Bay and the Aran Islands, suggesting it played a defensive or observational role in the region.