This small tower house, likely built in the 15th or 16th century, represents the type of fortified dwelling that once dotted the Irish countryside during a period when local chieftains and Anglo-Norman families needed defensible homes. The castle’s name derives from the Irish “Baile na Mantrach,” meaning “town of the mantles” or possibly “town of the toothless ones,” though the exact etymology remains debated among local historians.

The structure itself is a typical example of a tower house; a vertical stone fortress designed for both residence and defence. Rising approximately four storeys, though now partially ruined, it features the characteristic thick walls, narrow windows, and murder holes that were standard defensive elements of the period. The ground floor would have served as storage, whilst the upper floors contained the main hall and private chambers. A spiral staircase, built into the thickness of the wall, once connected these levels, and remnants of a bawn wall suggest the castle originally had an enclosed courtyard for livestock and additional protection.

Today, Ballynamantragh Castle sits quietly in the Galway countryside, slowly being reclaimed by ivy and time. While it lacks the grandeur of better-preserved Irish castles, it offers visitors an authentic glimpse into the lives of minor nobility and wealthy merchants who built these practical fortifications throughout Ireland. The castle remains on private land but can be viewed from the nearby road, standing as a testament to the turbulent centuries when such towers provided both home and haven in an uncertain world.