Ballymote Castle, Ballymote, Ireland

Ballymote Castle is a large rectangular keepless castle, built around 1300. It is located in the townland of Carrownanty on the outskirts of Ballymote. It is the last of the Norman castles in Connacht. It was probably built in order to protect the newly won possessions of Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster (also known as the Red Earl), in County Sligo, some distance from an earlier motte.

Ballymote castle is a large enclosure castle, the most symmetrical of all the Irish 'keepless' castles. It has many similarities with Beaumaris Castle, in Anglesey, Wales, built by King Edward I of England. The entrance, with a double towered gate, is in the north wall and had twin D-shaped towers. It has a gatehouse typical of the period, the outer portions of which have almost completely disappeared. The castle, however, remains an impressive structure. The interior measures about 30 square metres. There are three-quarter round towers at all four corners and also in the middle of the east and west walls. A postern gate, which was planned for the centre of the south wall, was never completed, probably because of the events of 1317, when the castle was lost to the O'Connors. A small square tower had protected this gate.

References:

Wikipedia

User Reviews

Noel Fagan (9 months ago)
Well preserved Castle within the town of Ballymote, parking close by.

James Conn (2 years ago)
A great place to visit if in the area. Went by accident and enjoyed it very much.

Rosemary Fahy (2 years ago)
Beautiful but pitty I could not get inside the actual castle

Amber Mckay (2 years ago)
Sadly full of teenagers throwing stones and being noisy so we couldn't stay for long - such a shame

Fergus O'Reilly (3 years ago)
Lovely site, good remains if a very large Norman Castle. Ballymote is remote but this castle made it a worthwhile visit from Mayo. Some nice pubs and cafes in the town.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Zvonimir Hrvoj

Historic Site of the week

Church of St Donatus

The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.

The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.

The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.

Ballymote Castle

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Church of St Donatus