Settlement deserted

In flat farmland at an important crossing point on the Clare River (see GA057-091----). Known in medieval sources as the manor of 'Corphyn' (Knox 1901a, 168-9). The initial settlement was established by Walter de Ridelesford in the late 1230s and though the present castle (GA057-089----) is of 15th-C date, it may occupy an earlier fortified site. A licence to hold a weekly market and a fair was granted in 1252 (Graham 1978, 43), but the character and status of the settlement is unclear (Holland 1988, 79-81). No visible surface trace survives and its exact location cannot be pinpointed: apart from the castle, the only topographical evidence for its location is the line of an old roadway (GA057-161----) on W bank of the river. The absence of a medieval church in the vicinity is notable; possibly just a manorial village. (Knox 1901b, 367) 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: 28 February 2017