Site of Castle French, Carrowreagh East, Co. Galway
In the rolling pastureland of Carrowreagh East, County Galway, the remains of Castle French lie hidden beneath centuries of earth and grass.
Site of Castle French, Carrowreagh East, Co. Galway
Though marked on the first edition of the Ordnance Survey 6-inch map, no standing structures survive above ground today. Instead, visitors will find an intriguing landscape of mounds, hollows, and earthen banks that hint at the castle’s former presence.
The site occupies a slight rise in the undulating countryside, a strategic position typical of medieval fortifications in this part of Ireland. While the stone and timber have long since disappeared, the earthworks tell their own story; the various banks and depressions likely mark the locations of defensive walls, ditches, and perhaps the foundations of the castle itself. These subtle features in the landscape require a keen eye to spot, but they represent centuries of local history embedded in the very contours of the land.
Castle French appears to have been completely abandoned and dismantled, its stones probably recycled for nearby field walls and farm buildings, a common fate for many Irish castles after they fell out of use. The Archaeological Inventory of County Galway notes the extensive nature of these earthworks, suggesting this was once a substantial fortification rather than a simple tower house. Today, sheep graze where lords once walked, and only the trained observer can read the story written in the bumps and hollows of this quiet Galway field.