Site of Tullamore Castle

In a farmyard in improved pasture on the summit of a prominent drumlin bounded by the Knocknaskeagh River to the N and E and by the Aughyvackeen River to the S. The site has clear views in all directions and overlooks Liscannor Bay to the SW. Indicated and named ‘Site of Tullamore Castle’ on the 1840 and 1916 OS 6-inch maps. The latter indicates the site of the castle within a hachured subcircular enclosure (26m E-W). Shown on the Down Survey map of the barony of Corcomroe (1655-1658), but not on the Grandy Jury map of Clare (1878), the castle was demolished before 1839, and Curry noted it as ‘the site of an old castle’ (Comber 1997, 95). In the later half of the 16th century the castle was held by members of the O’Brien sept. In 1574, the castle was owned by Sir Donal O’Brien of Dough. At the opening of the 17th century, it was owned by Aney O’Brien, and it passed to her son Turlough when she died c. 1611 (Breen and Ua Cróinín 1997, 12). Turlough was implicated in the ‘1641 Rebellion’ and his lands were disposed of to Lord Ikerrin. When Turlough died in 1652, his window, Una, made a petition to the Court of Claims on behalf of herself and her daughter. Breen and Ua Cróinín suggest that the castle was ‘taken down’ before 1700 (ibid., 13). There are no visible remains of the castle. The site of the castle is now a concrete silage yard beside the adjacent house. Reference: Breen, M. and Ua Cróinín, R. 1997 Some north-west Clare towerhouses. The Other Clare 21, 5-14. The following item has been uploaded: CL015-009002-_01.pdf Details from Risteárd Ua Cróinín and Martin Breen, The Castles and Tower-houses of Co. Clare (unpublished report).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. Compiled by: Mary Tunney and Eve Campbell Date of upload: 15 August 2023