Strongfort Castle (in ruins)

On the E side of a by-road in undulating farmland and commanding a crossing-point on the Dunkellin River c. 30m to the SSE. This rectangular tower house (c. 9.5m N-S; c. 8.6m E-W) is probably of late-16th or early 17th-century date. It was refurbished as a modern residence in the 1980s, in the course of which modern concrete floors and windows were inserted, and the parapets were reconstructed complete with crenellations (see Shaffrey 1985, 55). The original tower, which appears to have been of at least two storeys, had a doorway centrally placed in the E wall. This gave access to a lobby from which doorways led to a small chamber/guardroom in the SE corner, the spiral stairs in the NE corner and to main ground-floor room. A fireplace in the N wall of this room may be a modern insertion. A short garderobe passage opens off the stairs in the same wall on the 1st floor. There are two angle bartizans with musket loops at this level at the NW and SE corners. (O'Flanagan 1927, Vol. 1, 444). Compiled by: Galway Archaeological Survey, UCG Date of upload: 26 August 2021

Strongfort Castle (Caheradangan) was likely built by a local Gaelic or Anglo-Irish lord in the late 16th or early 17th century as a defensive tower house. Its strategic position overlooking a river crossing highlights its importance in controlling local trade and movement during a period of political instability in Ireland.