What is recorded here

Creagh Castle occupied undulating grassland near Ballinasloe during the 16th century when Sean na Maighe O'Kelly lived there. Roads have since cut through the subcircular earthworks, erasing the motte, bailey and mound traces that once marked the residence. Only a slightly raised oval remains beneath the traffic, holding the ghost of a castle that vanished into ordinary ground.

In undulating grassland, c. 10m S of a stream, near N limits of Ballinasloe town. In existence in the 16th C when it was occupied by 'Sean na Maighe O'Kelly' (Egan 1960, 37). What survives is a large slightly raised subcircular area (N-S c. 102m, E-W c. 88m) cut at N and S by a road. Of the castle itself, and the series of mounds and hollows noted by Rynne (pers. comm.), no visible surface trace survives. He described the monument as being 'eccentrically placed … the whole complex is much like a bailey with the remains of a motte/castle'. 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

Built or held in the 16th century by Sean na Maighe O'Kelly, the site of Creagh Castle is remembered for its historical association with the O'Kelly family, a prominent Gaelic Irish dynasty in the area. Its location near Ballinasloe highlights its potential role in the regional power dynamics of medieval Connacht.

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