Corrofin Castle (in ruins) — Corrofin

This tower house is sited on a low partially natural platform on the W bank of the River Clare: the original river flowed c. 10m to its E but a subsequent channel now flows c. 70m to the E of it. According to the Annals of the Four Masters, it was built in 1451 by Lord Clanrickarde (Nolan 1901a, 26-7) and it was in the possession of 'Richard Burke' in 1585 (ibid. 1901b, 118). On inspection in November 1983, it comprised a rectangular four-storey tower (L 11.8m, Wth 10.4m) constructed of coursed well-dressed stone with a gently base-batter. The pointed arch doorway, set off-centre in the NE wall, opened into a small lobby with a murder-hold overhead. The presence of opposing vertical slots in the side-walls directly inside the door, indicated that it was also defended by a portcullis. An intramural stairs to the E lead to the 1st floor from where the spiral stairs rose in the E angle. There were stone vaults between ground/1st and 2nd/3rd floors. Intramural passages were evident in the SE wall on the 1st floor and in the SW wall on the 2nd floor; the former lead to a garderobe in the SW wall. A mural chamber was visible in the NE wall on the 2nd floor and a fireplace survived in the NW wall. Only the central section of the SW wall on the 3rd floor survived. Corbels centrally placed on top it formerly supported a machiolation. Apart from simple slits, all the windows had been robbed out (SMR file). In January 2009, following a reported lightning strike, some masonry from various sections of the SW wall fell to the ground. The tower stands at the S corner of a roughly subrectangular earthen platform (E-W 41m, N-S 38m) defined by a stony scarp (H 1.4m): traces of a wall foundation are visible on its crest along the SE side. On 1st ed. of the OS 6-inch map, an artificial-looking side channel of the river skirts the W and N sides of the platform before rejoining the main channel to the N. An 'Old Br.' is indicated across the channel at NW but no visible surface trace of it survives. These features may be part of the 'causeway and drawbridge' referred to by Nolan (1901a, 27). Within the interior of the platform, a rectangular area (NW-SE 18.5m, NE-SW 12.5m) defined by a low bank adjoins the tower on its NW side, and aerial reconnaissance (CUCAP BDN 77) shows a possible rectangular house foundation in the E corner. 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). Edited by: Olive Alcock Date of revised upload: 7 July 2023