Oranmore Castle
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| Oranmore Castle | |
|---|---|
| Native name Caisleán Órán Mór (Irish) | |
 | |
| Type | tower house |
| Location | Oranmore, County Galway, Ireland |
| Coordinates | 53°16′5.72″N 8°56′6.25″W / 53.2682556°N 8.9350694°W |
| Built | 15th century |
| Owner | Leonie Finn[1] |
  Location of Oranmore Castle in County Galway  Oranmore Castle (Ireland) | |
Oranmore Castle is a castle in Oranmore, County Galway, Ireland.
Oranmore Castle was most likely built some time around the 15th century, possibly on top of an older fortified house.[2] The Clanricardes, a notable family from Galway, used it as a stronghold. In March 1642 the town, Oranmore, joined Confederate Ireland in a rebellion, against which the owners of the castle, the Marquess and the fifth Earl Clanricarde, held out.[2] Clanricarde supplied the Fort of Galway from the sea until 1643, when, without the Marquess's sanction, Captain Willoughby Governor of Galway surrendered.[2][3]
While ownership was temporarily lost, the 6th Earl regained possession, and in 1666 leased the castle to Walter Athy, whose descendants kept control of Oranmore until 1853.[2] It was then abandoned.[4]
The castle, which had fallen into disrepair, was reroofed after Anita Leslie purchased it in 1947 for £200.[5][6] Her daughter Leonie inherited the castle upon Anita's death. Leonie and her husband, Irish folk musician Alec Finn (1944-2018), lived there from that time.[7]
Structure and layout
The castle, a rectangular towerhouse, has four storeys, a square staircase turret, and gunloops on the bottom floor. [8]