Killeen Castle

On the side of a byroad in gently undulating farmland. In existence in 1574 when it was in the possession of 'Wm and Redmund mac Wm ffiegh' Burke (Nolan 1901, 115). A neat, almost square tower of four storeys. The original doorway (L 6.8m, Wth 6.2m), centrally placed in N wall, was later expanded into an arch, and a corresponding arch (now blocked) occurs in S wall. The doorway gave access directly into the ground-floor chamber with spiral stairs in NW corner. Stone vaults exist between ground/1st floor and 2nd/3rd floors. There is an intramural passage along W wall between 2nd/3rd floors: probably leading to a latrine. Only the base of the rooftop parapet survives. The windows are all single or double lights with ogival, round and flat heads. The traces of a later pitched roof on S wall are probably coeval with the arches. A ruined, 19th-C house abuts W wall (Athy 1914, 171-3; O'Flanagan 1927a, Vol. 1, 139). The rectangular foundations of a second house lie to N of the castle and there are also traces of a rectangular enclosure in the field to NE, possibly a remnant of the bawn. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Galway Vol. I - West Galway'. Compiled by Paul Gosling (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1993). Date of upload: 05 August 2010

Killeen Castle was held by the Burke family in 1574 and is notable as an example of a well-preserved medieval tower house in a rural setting. Its association with the Burke dynasty, a prominent Gaelic-Irish family, adds to its historical significance.