| Merlinpark Castle | |
|---|---|
| Merlin Castle | |
 | |
| Type | tower house |
| Location | Merlin Park, Galway, County Galway, Ireland |
| Coordinates | 53°16′47″N8°59′53″W / 53.27975°N 8.99808°W |
| Built | 15th century [1] |
| Owner | State |
  Location of Merlinpark Castle in Ireland | |
| Official name | Merlinpark Castle |
| Reference no. | 609 [2] |
Merlinpark Castle or Merlin Castle is a tower house and national monument located in County Galway, Ireland, close to the grounds of Merlin Park University Hospital. [3] [4]
Merlinpark Castle, also sometimes known as Merlin Castle or Doughiske Castle, is located 4 km (2½ mile) east-northeast of Galway city centre in the townland of Merlinpark.
While the area may have contained an earlier fortification associated with Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair (King of Connacht and High King of Ireland in the 12th century), [5] the tower house of Merlin Castle dates from the 15th or 16th century. [1] It was owned by the Lynch family (Ó Loingsigh) in the 16th century. [4] Still in good condition, it was lived in until the mid-19th century. [6]
The tower house, which was known as 'Doughiske Castle' until the 18th century, [7] has the remains of a sheela na gig carving on the second floor. [8]
A sheela na gig is a figurative carving of a naked woman displaying an exaggerated vulva. These carvings, from the Middle Ages, are architectural grotesques found throughout most of Europe on cathedrals, castles, and other buildings.
Aughinish, also Aughnish, is a small island and townland in Oughtmama Parish of the Barony of Burren in north County Clare, Ireland. It is on the south shore of Galway Bay, 11 km (7 mi) northwest of Kinvarra. The island is approximately 2 miles (3 km) wide and 1 mile (1.6 km) from the northernmost tip to the southernmost point and has just over fifty inhabitants.
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Castlegar is a village and electoral division in County Galway, just outside the city of Galway, in Ireland. Castlegar is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora. It extends from Lough Corrib across to Merlin Park by the old Galway-Dublin road.
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Awbeg River is a river in the southern part of Ireland. It is a tributary of the Blackwater and flows into that larger river at a point in County Cork.
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The Callan Augustinian Friary is an Augustinian friary in Callan, County Kilkenny, Ireland. Originally founded in the 15th century, it is located in what is known locally as the "Abbey Meadow", in the north-east of the town, on the banks of the Kings River. The friary forms part of the Callan Heritage Trail, which opened in May 2024.
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Taghmon Church is a fortified church and National Monument in County Westmeath, Ireland.
Cloonigny Castle is a ruined tower house and moated site in the townland of Cloonigny in County Galway, Ireland. The castle site, which is a protected national monument, is 4 km northeast of Kilconnell.
Pallas Castle is a tower house and National Monument located in County Galway, Ireland.
Ardamullivan Castle is a tower house and National Monument located in County Galway, Ireland.
Clomantagh Castle is a 15th-century tower house located near Freshford, County Kilkenny, in Ireland. Originally constructed in the 1430s, additional buildings and outbuildings were added in the subsequent centuries - including a connected 19th century farmhouse. Carvings on the castle's walls include a Sheela na gig relief.
Castlemagner is a village, townland and civil parish in the Duhallow area of north-west County Cork, Ireland. Castlemagner is within the Cork North-West.
Ringmahon House is a 19th-century house in the Mahon and Blackrock area of Cork in Ireland. Built c. 1820 by James Murphy, the house was owned by Ben Dunne in the mid-20th century. As of the 21st century, the house is owned by Cork City Council and is used as a school by Mahon Youthreach.
GA094-023---- [..] Castle - tower house : Merlinpark [..] On a short rise in the former demesne of Merlin Park House. This Nat. Mon., known as 'Doughiske Castle' until the mid-18th C, was in existence in 1574 when it was in the possession of Stephan Lynch
GA094-023001- [..] Sheela-na-gig : Merlinpark [..] Discovered in 2002 [..], this sheela-na-gig figure is carved onto the spandrel of singe-light ogee-headed window on the second floor of the S wall of Merlin Castle (GA094-023----)
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