Castle Island

Castle Island is a rocky islet in Lough Conn, County Mayo, where the ruined walls of a medieval fortress still break through the grass. The MacDonnells likely built the stone keep in the thirteenth or fourteenth century to watch the waterway and protect their clan from rival families. The Bourkes later took the island, using its height and distance from the shore to control movement across the lake. Today ivy and moss climb the remaining walls, while the Nephin Mountains rise beyond the water like a dark green ridge drawn across the sky.