Rockfleet Castle
_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1288125.jpg)
Rockfleet Castle ( Irish Caisleán Charraig an Chabhlaigh ) is the name of a 16th century tower house near Burrishoole west of Newport in County Mayo , Republic of Ireland . The Tower House is entered in the list of national monuments (National Monuments) under the category Guardianship also known under the English name Carraigahowley Castle .
Location and place name
The residential tower is located at the mouth of a narrow inlet on the north shore of Clew Bay , about seven to eight kilometers west of Newport. The N59 runs between Newport and Mulranny on the amount of PEMA at some distance north of the castle . The site was carefully chosen by the builders, as a permanent siege was difficult due to the regularly recurring flood and the associated flooding and waterlogging of the land around the tower .
The Irish name Carraig an Chabhlaigh means rock stone of the fleet or simply fleet rock . So the English name Rockfleet is nothing more than a (somewhat imprecise) literal translation of the Irish name. A more precise translation would give Fleetrock or Rock of the Fleet . The name Carraigahowley only gives the Irish name with English orthography.
The building
The castle is about 18 meters high, square, defensive tower-like stone building and, apart from narrow loopholes , has no windows. Four floors of oak planks have been drawn into the building, whereby there is no fixed stair connection from the ground floor to the first floor, just a hole in the ceiling to which a ladder is laid. A stone spiral staircase leads to the other floors. There is a fireplace on the top floor, which suggests that this was probably the main residence of the residents. On the tower itself there is a gable roof with a surrounding parapet and two small wall turrets that protrude over the parapet.
History of the building
Rockfleet Castle was built in the mid 16th century and was originally owned by Sir Richard Burke, his Irish nickname Risdeárd an Iarainn ( English Iron Dick perhaps owed to the fact) that he was the owner of a nearby ironworks. He also owned lands around Burrishoole . This Richard de Burgo married Gráinne Ní Mháille , the famous Irish pirate , in 1566 . At first she lived with her husband in the castle and used the strategically favorable place as a shelter. Their fleet of twenty pirate ships that camped there probably gave the place its name. After the death of her husband in 1583, Gráinne stayed in Rockfleet. When the English succeeded in capturing part of their fleet together with her brother, she agreed to negotiations to free her brother. Eventually this led to the abandonment of their resistance, ultimately causing Rockfleet Castle to lose its strategic importance. In the 18th century, Rockfleet Castle was owned by the Arbuthnot family.
In the first half of the 20th century, Owen O'Malley, a direct descendant of Gráinne, repaired the tower after the end of the Irish Civil War . The tower later came into the possession of a United States ambassador to Ireland. Nowadays the tower can be visited free of charge over the summer months, according to other information it is even possible to visit it all year round.
Web links
- Inside and outside views of the castle
- Travel report to Rockfleet Castle
- History of the castle (English)
- About Rockfleet Castle (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ logainm.ie ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Accessed May 13, 2012.
- ^ National Monuments in State Care: Ownership & Guardianship . National Monuments Service, May 2009, p. 9 ( PDF ; 555 kB).
- ↑ genealogy.com ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Accessed May 13, 2012.
Coordinates: 53 ° 53 ′ 45.7 " N , 9 ° 37 ′ 37.5" W.