Finbarras Castle

On the summit of Knockmaa, c. 130m WNW of the largest cairn (GA042-064002-). What survives is a large amorphous mass of stone (GA042-064----) crowned by 'Finvarra's Castle', an early 19th-C folly (O'Flanagan 1927, Vol. 1, 127-8). The latter consists of a square drystone structure surrounded at a lower level by two concentric circular drystone walls (overall D c. 29.75m). A series of steps at NE, five of which survive, give access to the top of the much-collapsed central structure. The surrounding walls, c. 3m apart, are extant from ESE through S to WNW; elsewhere there is total collapse. A folly (GA042-063----) lies 285m to WNW. (Killanin and Duignan 1967, 305; CUCAP ATF 28) On a revisit in February 2015 it was noted that the outer encircling wall of the folly had collapsed from SE to SW and the resulting collapse had spread 3-4m downslope of the cairn. 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). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Updated by: Olive Alcock Date of revised upload: 12 June 2015