Ballymote Castle
| Ballymote Castle | ||
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 Ballymote Castle in the 1790s |
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| Alternative name (s): | Caisleán Bhaile to Mhóta | |
| Creation time : | around 1300 | |
| Castle type : | Niederungsburg | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Standing position : | Irish nobility | |
| Construction: | Quarry stone | |
| Place: | Ballymote | |
| Geographical location | 54 ° 5 '14.7 " N , 8 ° 31' 10.8" W | |
| Height: | 64 m ASLTemplate: height / unknown reference | |
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Ballymote Castle ( Irish Caisleán Bhaile to Mhóta ) which is ruin a lowland castle in Town Country Carrownanty on the outskirts of the city Ballymote in Ireland's County Sligo . The large, rectangular castle without a donjon was built around 1300 in an area that was formerly called Átha Cliath an Chorainn (English: ford of the fascines of Corann ). It was the youngest Norman castle in Connacht and is now a "National Monument". It is believed to have been built to protect the newly acquired holdings of Richard Og de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster , (also known as the Red Earl ) in County Sligo, which were some distance away from an earlier moth .
description
Ballymote Castle is a large fortress and the most symmetrical of the Irish castles without a keep. It has a lot in common with Beaumaris Castle in Anglesey in Wales , which the English King Edward I built. The entrance through a gate with D-shaped towers on both sides is in the northern perimeter wall. It had a gatehouse typical of its time , the outer parts of which have now almost completely disappeared. Nevertheless, the castle ruins remain an impressive building. The inside measures about 30 m². There is a three-quarter tower at each of the four corners and also in the middle of the east and west walls. A side gate , which was planned for the center of the south wall, was never completed, presumably because of the events in 1317 when the castle was lost to the O'Connors . A small tower with a square floor plan protected this gate.
The walls are about 3 meters thick and flanked by four noble towers. Corridors about 90 centimeters wide run around the walls; they were designed so that they provide access to the towers and the curtain wall at different heights and meet the needs of attack or defense.
There is no trace of the buildings in the inner courtyard.
Local legends claim that underground passages connected Emlaghfad Church to the castle and to the nearby Franciscan Abbey , although such stories are told across Ireland and are unlikely to contain a grain of truth.
The Red Earl is also the construction of an old street of Boyle to Collooney called Bóthar to Corann or Red Earls Road attributed.
history
The castle has changed hands many times in its history. In 1317 it was conquered by the O'Connors of Sligo and in 1347 it went to the MacDiarmadas in the course of local battles . In 1381 it fell to the MacDonaghs .
Ballymote Castle belonged to Tadhg MacDermot , one of the last kings of Moylurg , in 1561 , but fell again to the O'Connors in 1571 . At that time they gave up the castle to the English King James I and got it lent back by him. In 1577 the castle fell into English hands for a short time and then again in 1584, this time for a longer time, when the governor of Connacht, Richard Bingham , took it for his king. There are no records of the inhabitants for this period, it is believed that the castle was abandoned as a residence from 1317 to 1584.
The O'Connors , O'Hartes, and O'Dowds sacked Ballymote Castle in 1588. The English left it to the MacDonaghs in 1598 , who soon sold it to Hugh Roe O'Donnell . (A source says he bought it for £ 400 and 300 cattle). From there, Hugh Roe O'Donnell marched in 1601 to the disastrous Battle of Kinsale . When the O'Donnells gave up the castle to the English in 1602, it was already in a poor state of preservation. In 1633 it belonged to the Taaffes for a short time , but in 1652 they had to give them back to the English parliamentary armed forces . In the War of the Two Kings , Captain Terence MacDonagh thought it was King James II , but had to hand it over to the Earl of Granard in 1690 in the face of an artillery attack . Soon afterwards, the fortress walls were razed , the moat was filled in, and the castle fell into ruin.
The Irish Office of Public Works later carried out maintenance work on the castle.
access
The ruined castle is on the R296 from Ballymote to Tubbercurry opposite the Ballymote train station and right by the Catholic Church. To obtain the key for a small fee , contact the Enterprise Center on Grattan Street at 071-9183992. The center is open Mon – Fri 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and in summer often also on weekends. The castle ruins can be reached via the property of the Ballymote Community Nursing Unit .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ballymote Castle . In: The Parish of Ballymote . Archived from the original on April 15, 2007. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
- ↑ Ballymote Castle . In: Irelandseye . Retrieved April 5, 2019.
- ↑ Ballymote Castle . In: Explore the sights of south Sligo - The Coleman Irish Music Center . Coleman Heritage Center Ltd. Archived from the original on February 6, 2012. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
