Shanmuckinish castle

History

  Also known as Muckinish Castle or Seanmuckinish, this is an outstanding ruined tower house located in Dumcreehy, in north county Clare, nestled on the Galway bay [1]. In more detail, the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage describes the tower house as the “Remains of freestanding square-plan single-bay four-storey rubble stone-built tower house, built c. 1450, now in ruins. Random rubble stone walls with base batter and battlements and machicolations to parapet. Square-headed windows and gun loops. Bawn wall partially rebuilt” [2].
  The name derives from the Irish Muck inis which means "pig island", while sean means "old", to distinguish this tower house from a second one, Muckinish Nua ("new") [1]. Both castles were built within three years of each other, in the 15th century: In [1] is stated that, as of 1897, while Shanmuckinish was habitable, a worse fate befell Muckinish Nua, which got badly damaged.
  There is uncertainty about the original owners of Shanmuckinish castle. Perhaps it was built by the O’Loughlin family [3]. Anyway, it was in 1584 when the castle was mentioned for the first time in the Annals of the Four Masters [4]. Possibly, the MacNamara family lived there, after they were expelled from Dromoland Castle in Newmarket-on-Fergus in 1654 [5]. Members of O'Loghlen, Neylon and Blake families occupied the tower house till the 19th century [1, 3]. In any case, most probably it was built for strategic reasons, due to its position on a isthmus extending into Pouldoody Bay [3, 6].

References

• [1] Wikipedia, Shanmuckinish Castle
• [2] National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, Shanmuckinish Castle, MUCKINISH WEST, CLARE
• [3] Patrick Comerford, The romantic ruins of Muckinish Castle in the Burren, overlooking Galway Bay
• [4] Visions of the past, Muckinish Castle, Clare, Ireland
• [5] Irish Stones, Shanmuckinish
• [6] Ireland in Ruins, Muckinish Castle Co Clare

Gallery

Tips

  Beautiful and romantic Shanmuckinish! We were so delighted when we spotted this ruin, while driving around the country side in Co. Clare. There it was! Standing like a guardian beside the ocean. The low tide, a forgotten boat and the green coast line. All creating this picturesque beauty.
  You can easily get acces to the inside walls of the ruin, by simply walking beside the shore. The fallen pieces of the ruined tower house, might challenge your walk, so just take some caution where you step foot, the coastal side of the construction is pretty battered. It was definitely a treat and we are sure it will pique also your curiosity!