Carrickkildavnet Castle

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Carrickkildavnet Castle
Native name
Irish: Caisleán Ghráinne
Kildavnet Castle/Tower
Grace O'Malley's Castle
Kildownet Tower
Carrickkildavnet Castle1.jpg
Type tower house
LocationCarrickkildavnet, Achill Island,
County Mayo, Ireland
Coordinates 53°52′51″N9°56′45″W / 53.880875°N 9.945935°W / 53.880875; -9.945935 Coordinates: 53°52′51″N9°56′45″W / 53.880875°N 9.945935°W / 53.880875; -9.945935
Height12 m (39 ft)
Builtc. 1429
OwnerState
Official nameCarrickkildavnet Castle
Reference no.458
Ireland adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Carrickkildavnet Castle in Ireland

Carrickkildavnet Castle or Kildavnet Castle is a tower house and National Monument located in Achill Island, Ireland. [1] [2]

Contents

Location

Carrickkildavnet Castle is located in the southeast corner of Achill Island, across from the Corraun Peninsula. This is an important strategic site, protecting the mouth of Achill Sound and the passage that connects Clew Bay with Blacksod Bay. [3]

History

Carrickkildavnet Castle was built c. 1429 by the Ó Máille (O'Malley), Kings of Umaill. It was later the stronghold of Gráinne Ní Mháille (Grace O'Malley, c. 1530 – c. 1603), the famous "pirate queen." Her other strongholds were at Rockfleet Castle (on Clew Bay) and Clare Island.[ citation needed ]

Building

It is a tower house of four storeys' height. It is vaulted above the first floor and a hole at the corner of this vault is the only access to the higher levels, presumably for defensive reasons. Other defensive features include a mural chamber, machicolation, defensive loops, buttress fortifications at the top and a ruined bawn wall. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

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Umhaill or Umhall was a Gaelic territory around Clew Bay in the west of what is now County Mayo, Ireland, comprising the baronies of Burrishoole and Murrisk. By the 12th century, its ruling dynasty were known as the Uí Máille (O'Malleys). Originally an autonomous part of the kingdom of Connacht, it later became one of the vassal territories of the Mac William Íochtar. Umhaill's last and most famous ruler was Grace O'Malley, nicknamed "the pirate queen". In 1576, during the Tudor conquest of Ireland, she agreed to the surrender and regrant policy, accepting English inheritance law in return for official title deeds to her lands. On her death the lands were inherited by her son Tibbot "na Long". Umhaill had a strong seafaring culture. Important sites associated with it include Carrickkildavnet Castle, Carrickahowley Castle, Granuaile's Castle and Clare Island Abbey.

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References

  1. ↑ Mullen, Michael (1 January 2004). Mayo: The Waters and the Wild. Dundurn. ISBN   9781900935401 – via Google Books.
  2. ↑ Greenwood, Margaret; Connolly, Mark; Wallis, Geoff (1 January 2003). Ireland. Rough Guides. ISBN   9781843530596 – via Google Books.
  3. ↑ "Granuaile's Tower, Kildavnet, Achill Island, Ireland - Achill Tourism".
  4. ↑ "Kildavnet Castle, Achill Island • Destination Westport". Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  5. ↑ "Kildavnet Castle (2013) - Achill Archaeological Field School".
  6. ↑ "Kildavnet Castle".
  7. ↑ "Kildavnet Castle Stock Photos and Pictures - Getty Images".
  8. ↑ "Carrickkildavnet Castle & Church Co Mayo". 25 January 2016.
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