Castle, Ballintober, Co. Roscommon
Perched on the southeastern end of a drumlin ridge in County Roscommon, Ballintober Castle stands as one of Ireland's most intriguing medieval fortresses.
Castle, Ballintober, Co. Roscommon
Built around 1300 by Richard de Burgh, the Red Earl of Ulster, this keepless castle first appears in historical records in 1315 when Ruaraí O’Conor captured it. By 1333, an inquisition described it as having stone walls enclosing various buildings including a hall, chamber, and kitchen, with about 300 acres of demesne land worked by free tenants. The castle’s strategic importance made it a prize worth fighting for; after Cathal Óg O’Conor seized it in 1362, various branches of the O’Conor clan controlled it throughout the Middle Ages, though they faced repeated challenges from the Mac William Burkes, the O’Kellys, and others seeking to claim this stronghold.
The castle’s architecture tells a fascinating story of medieval defensive design and later adaptations. Its subrectangular enclosure, measuring roughly 84 metres east to west and 75 metres north to south, features curtain walls about 2 metres thick with polygonal towers at each corner. The original entrance on the east wall once boasted two D-shaped gate towers, though only their foundations remain visible today, partially incorporated into a later handball alley. The northwest tower underwent significant transformation in 1627, when it was converted into a four-storey tower house; you can still see the date carved into a fireplace on the second floor, along with an IHS monogram and the inscription ‘CONro’. The defensive moat, most impressive on the northwest side where it reaches 16.5 metres wide, still traces the castle’s northern, western, and southern boundaries.
Recent archaeological surveys using resistivity, gradiometry, and ground-penetrating radar have revealed tantalising glimpses of the castle’s hidden past. Beneath the grass-covered courtyard lie the remains of what appears to be a large L-shaped building in the southwest corner, possibly the great hall mentioned in 1333, complete with masonry pillars that likely supported a timber-framed, three-aisled structure. Near the northeast angle, researchers discovered evidence of what might have been a chapel or small church, whilst traces of a third building emerge from beneath a slight platform in the northwest corner. Perhaps most intriguingly, the surveys detected signs of an earlier circular enclosure, about 45 metres in diameter, centred near the eastern gateway; this pre-castle settlement, with its defensive fosse and possible hut sites, suggests that Ballintober’s strategic importance was recognised long before the Normans arrived. Though the castle passed through various hands over the centuries, finally returning to O’Conor family ownership after 1889, it now stands closed to casual visitors, accessible only by appointment, its weathered stones holding centuries of Irish history within their walls.
Good to Know
Tags
Visitor Notes
Added by
IrishHistory.com
Related Places
Doe Castle, County Donegal
Carmelite Abbey, Rathmullan, Co. Donegal
Bunratty Castle, Bunratty East, Co. Clare
Lough Eske Castle, Co. Donegal
