Fortane Castle, Fortane More, Co. Clare
Rising from a limestone outcrop overlooking Castle Lough and Maryfort Lough, the ruins of Fortane Castle stand as a skeletal reminder of centuries of Irish clan warfare and political upheaval.
Fortane Castle, Fortane More, Co. Clare
Built between 1440 and 1480 by Rory MacNamara, this tower house was strategically positioned near the site of a battle that had occurred two centuries earlier between Turlough O’Brien and Thomas De Clare. The MacNamaras held the castle until the 1641 rebellion, when ownership passed to the McGraths, who maintained control until its forfeiture sometime after 1691.
Today, only the western wall of the tower house remains standing, reaching three storeys high with fragments of the south and north walls still clinging to the corners. The structure, measuring 14.3 metres in length, showcases the typical construction methods of medieval Irish tower houses, with roughly squared limestone blocks and dressed quoinstones, though many have been lost to time, particularly at ground level. The surviving architecture reveals a complex internal layout; the ground floor featured a vaulted chamber and what appears to have been a guardroom with wall niche near the north end, suggesting the main entrance was located in the now completely missing north wall.
The upper floors contain evidence of multiple vaulted chambers, each with its own window embrasure featuring splayed ingoings, and the remains of a garderobe chute can be traced through multiple levels of the western wall. Perhaps most intriguing is a curious chute or flue that extends upwards through the wall, terminating in a rectangular opening near the third floor that may have served as a lookout point. The castle’s interior is now largely choked with rubble from the collapsed walls, though architectural details like pointed wicker-centred vaults, corbels that once supported timber roof structures, and a single intact window opening at the third floor level offer glimpses into its former grandeur. The surrounding landscape shows evidence of ancient limestone quarrying, and the remains of a long rectangular building lie just 15 metres to the northwest, hinting at a larger medieval complex that once dominated this gentle, undulating countryside.