Castlekirk

Castlekirk
Native name Caisleán na Circe (Irish)
Hen's Castle
Type	tower house
Location	Castlekirk Island Lough Corrib, County Galway, Ireland
Coordinates	53.492530°N 9.513332°W / 53.492530; -9.513332
Built	before 1118
Owner	State
Location of Castlekirk in Ireland
National monument of Ireland
Official name	Castlekirk Castle
Reference no.	245[1]

Castlekirk, also called Hen's Castle, is a tower house and National Monument located in Lough Corrib, Ireland.[2][3][4]

Location

Castlekirk is located on a tiny island (0.18 ha or ½ acre) in the northwest corner of Lough Corrib, on the approach to Maum.[5]

History

The castle was built early in the 12th century by the sons of Ruaidrí na Saide Buide (d. 1118) aided by William FitzAldelm and is one of the oldest mortared castles in Ireland.^[citation needed]

The Lord Justice Sir Edmond Butler, in 1225, caused Odo O'Flatherty to give up Castlekirk to Aedh Ua Conchobair, King of Connaught; for assurance of his fidelity. The castle was knocked down by Fedlimid, son of Cathal Crobhdearg Ua Conchobair in 1233.^[citation needed]

Gráinne Ní Mháille in 1546, at the age of sixteen, married Dónal an-Chogaidh O'Flaherty who, because of his aggressive behaviour, got the nickname ‘the Cock’ and she was in turn was called ‘the Hen’. When Donal was murdered she fought back with fury and with such determination the castle became known as ‘Hen’s Castle’, the name it still bears.^[citation needed]

It continued to be occupied as a castle until it finally succumbed to Cromwellian soldiers in 1654.^[citation needed]

In the 19th century this ruin was vandalised and its stones were removed to build houses in the area.[6][7]

Legends

According to legend, the castle was built in a night by a cock and a hen. The Chief of the Name of Clan Ó Flaithbheartaigh and Lord of Iar Connaught, hired a witch to build it using magic. In a day and a night of casting spells she succeeded in creating the castle. She left a magic hen to look after it, warning that as long as the hen was looked after, the castle would remain secure. Everything went well until severe weather made life difficult and the inhabitants were forced to eat the hen.

Lady Jane Wilde tells of the folklore associated with Hen's Castle. In her work published in 1888, "Speranza" wrote the following:

Strange lights are sometimes seen flitting through it, and on some particular midnight a crowd of boats gather round it, filled with men dressed in green with red sashes. And they row about till the cock crows, when they suddenly vanish and the cries of children are heard in the air. Then the people know that there has been a death somewhere in the region, and that the Sidhe have been stealing the young mortal children, and leaving some ill-favoured brat in the cradle in place of the true child.[8]

Description

The rocks slope abruptly into the water on all sides.

References

1. "National Monuments of County Galway in State Care" (PDF). heritageireland.ie. National Monument Service. p. 6. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
2. "Castle Kirk – Castle of the Hen ( Caislean na Circe)". 4 January 2014.
3. The Irish Penny Journal. Gunn and Cameron. 1 January 1841. p. 26 – via Internet Archive. hen's castle.
4. Chambers, Anne (2 May 2006). Granuaile: Grace O'Malley: Grace O'Malley - Ireland's Pirate Queen. Gill & Macmillan Ltd. ISBN 9780717151745 – via Google Books.
5. Hall, Mrs S. C. (1 January 1843). Ireland: Its Scenery, Character, &c. How and Parsons. p. 482 – via Internet Archive. hen's castle.
6. "Caislean na Circe Lough Corrib Hens Castle Ireland Grace OMalley Grainne Mhaol Clonbur Co Galway Ireland".
7. "Castle Kirk - Castle of the Hen ( Caislean na Circe) - Topics - Oughterard Heritage".
8. Collins, A. "Castles".

External links

Media related to Castlekirk at Wikimedia Commons