History
A panel at the entrance signed by the Galway Civic Trust [1] states that Castlegar castle is a four-storey tower house built by Richard De Burgo, the 4th Earl of Clanricarde [2, 3], in the 16th Century as a defensive fort. As stated in [3], the De Burgo was a powerful family, ruling over much of Connacht, but opposed by the native Irish clans like the O’Flaherty’s. According to a legend, Richard De Burgo built Castlegar castle after his son was behaded by the O’Flaherty’s, however he stayed in the castle one night only, before moving to his residence, Portumna castle [3].
In 1574, the castle was held by another Anglo-Norman settler, Roland Skerrit [3].
The original Irish name An Caisleán Gearr means “short castle” [2]. Perhaps this derives from its height, shorter than other castles in the area, or maybe because it was inhabitated only for a short time [1].
As reported in the panel [1], the northeast wall was used as a handball alley up untill the mid 20th Century.