Leamaneh Castle (in ruins) — Leamaneh North

Situated at the junction of the roads from Corofin, Ballyvaughan and Kilfenora with good views to S and SW. A 17th-century fortified house attached to the W side of a five-storey 15th-century tower house (CL016-032002-) with walled gardens (CL016-032001- and CL016-032011-) at E and W. Only the services wing of the tower house remains, the original halls were replaced by the fortified house in 1648. The doorways to W of the tower house are not at the correct floor height to permit access to the three floors and attic of the later four-bay house. Both the tower and the house have a base-batter and good quoins except the W wall of the tower indicating that it was rebuilt. A gateway (CL016-032007-)(now in Dromoland) stood in front of the house, possibly on the line of a bawn wall, and had an inscription that read ‘This was built in the year of our Lord 1648 by Conor O’Brien and by Mary Ni Mahone, wife of the said Conor’. This was the illustrious 'Maire Rua' and Conor was her second of three husbands. Her son Donough lived at Leamaneh until 1684 when he moved to Dromoland. The property then passed to his son Lucius who died in 1717, to his son Sir Edward who owned it in 1728 and to his son Captain Edward who held it in 1764. By 1773 it was held by Charles MacDonnell who was married to Catherine O’Brien. The MacDonnells lived at Newhall and let Leamaneh go to ruin whereupon it passed back to Edward. The castle was most likely lived in until about 1800. (See Ua Cróinín and Breen 1997 (uploaded) for historical details and references). The house consists of an oblong block (ext. dims. 18.95m E-W; 10.1m N-S; wall T 1.3-1.5m; int. dims 17.95m E-W; 7.33m N-S). A contemporary stairs tower is attached at NW with small single and double lights in dressed limestone with square hood mouldings. There are no remaining stairs inside the tower and all the doorways connecting to the house are just conserved openings. To the E of this tower are the foundations of a secondary lean-to structure (ext. dims. 4.72m E-W; 4.31m; N-S) which had a doorway on the E wall. There are two, two-light windows with square hood mouldings at ground-floor level in the N wall and three, four-light mullioned and transomed windows in the S wall, much of which are carefully reconstructed and a fireplace recess in the W wall. The main entrance doorway is at S and is round-headed (Wth 1.28m; H 2.2m). Much of the E wall (the original W wall of the tower) is rebuilt. The first floor also has four, four-light mullioned and transomed windows at S with one on the N wall at a lower level. At the E end of the N wall there is a small with a simple light which may have been a garderobe. The second floor is similar with four, four-light windows at S and a recess for a fireplace at W. A three-light, square-headed window at N is again at a lower level than the windows at S, at a level that would correspond with the second floor of the tower. An inaccessible chamber at the E end of the S wall is likely to have been a garderobe. A doorway in the SW angle above floor level gives access to a rectangular bartizan supported on five corbels with pistol-loops on the S face and at the angles. The stairs return continues to attic level. Walls rising above the guttering indicate a wall-walk and the W wall rose to the same height as the tower. The S wall has a central gable with a three-light rectangular window. Lean-to or half gables were built against the W wall and the tower each having three-light rectangular windows. A large walled garden (CL016-032001-) extends to the E within which there are a series of fish-ponds (CL016-032010-). A second walled garden (CL016-032011-) lies to the W. Gate piers (CL016-032008-) survive c. 40m to the NW of the 17th-century house at the NW corner of the complex, while other gate piers (CL016-032009-) to SW no longer survive. A large gateway (CL016-032007-) originally stood in front of the house but was moved to Dromoland castle (CL042-063003-) in 1907 where it serves as the entrance to a walled garden. The road S towards Corofin from Leamaneh is named ‘Sir Donat’s Road’ (CL016-121---*/CL017-023----/CL010-111---*/CL011-017---*) after Donough O'Brien who was created a Baronet in 1686 and became known as ‘Donat’. (Westropp 1900, 403-407; Ua Cróinín and Breen 1987; O'Connell and Gosling 1991, 135-40; Leask 1995 (reprint), 133-4; Ua Cróinín and Breen 1997) The following items have been uploaded: CL016-032003-_01.pdf Details from Risteárd Ua Cróinín and Martin Breen, The Castles and Tower-houses of Co. Clare (unpublished report). Uploaded courtesy of R. Ua Cróinín and M. Breen. CL016-032002-_01.jpg Compiled by: Mary Tunney Date of upload: 7 November 2018