What is recorded here

Laragh Castle stood on the eastern edge of a large flat bog in 1574 under Shane ODaly, but by 1839 even its ruins had vanished without a visible trace. The castle did not merely decay; it surrendered to the bog, pulling stone and memory downward until the earth itself forgot the shape of its walls. What remains is not ruin but erasure, a clean removal that suggests the landscape rejected the castle rather than the castle collapsing under time.

On E edge of a large flat bog. In existence in 1574 when it was in the possession of 'Shane ODaly' (Nolan 1901b, 120). Evidently ruined by 1839 when OS Letters (O'Flanagan 1927, Vol. 1, 468) note 'In Larhagh (Larthach, leathrath) townland, a castle stood, the site of which is still pointed out'. No visible surface trace survives. 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

Laragh Castle was held by Shane ODaly in 1574 and is remembered as a historic site associated with early modern Irish landholding. It is noted for its location on the edge of a large bog and its documented ruin by the early 19th century.

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