Killimor Castle

On a rise in grassland just E of the Killimor River. In existence in 1574 when it was in the possession of 'Dermott ODaly' (Nolan 1901b, 120). The original tower, a rectangular four-storey structure (L12m, Wth 9m), has been incorporated into W end of an 18/19th-C house. The latter consists of a rectangular three-bay two-storey building over a basement, with a centrally placed doorway in S wall approached by a flight of stone steps. Large chimney stacks crown both gables. The original pointed arch doorway of the tower house, situated in E wall, is framed by an outer arch between which and the doorway proper is an narrow slit resembling a murder-hole. This doorway gave access to a lobby with a guardroom, still intact, to S. The original stone stairs of which only two steps remain, were situated in NW corner. Their site is now occupied by a dilapidated modern wooden stairs. There is also a blocked segmented arch doorway in N wall. Apart from a blocked ogee-headed window in E wall and a number of slit windows in W and N walls, no other architectural features were noted. A church (GA085-056001-) lies 80m NNW. 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). Date of upload: 05 August 2010

Dermott ODaly held Killimor Castle in 1574. The castle is remembered as a surviving medieval tower house in a strategic location, reflecting the defensive architecture of the period.