Parish of Carron (e)

In this Parish are situated the ruins of the Castles of O’Loughlin Burren mentioned in the list already often referred to. These are:-

1. Castletown, called in the list Castleton, and generally in Irish Caislean Boirne, situated on the brink of Lough Tullycumain and about six miles north of Corofin. It is much injured, but the northern side of it is in tolerable preservation. It is thirty five feet in length on this side, but its breadth cannot be easily ascertained. See Wakeman’s Sketch.

2. The Castle of Cappagh, called in the list, Nacapaghee, and now in Irish Caislean na Capaighe, stands in a Townland of the same name and to the left of the road as you go from Glencolumbkille House to Kinvara. It was a small square Castle.

3. The Castle of Crughwill, called in the list Kreagwill and now in Irish Criuchmhuil. It lies to the left of the road as you go from the Chapple of Carron to the New Quay, but it is so injured that its ruins are not interesting.

There are other ruins of two other Castles, or perhaps rather ancient dwelling houses, in this Parish not mentioned in the list. One in the Townland of Fahee north, situated in a valley to the left of the road as you go from Castletown to Glencolumbkille, but it is nearly crumbled to a heap of rubbish. The natives say that it was not a regular Castle but rather a large house or garrison formerly belonging to O’Louglin, King of Burren. It was probably built after the writing of the list of O’Loughlin’s Castles, which is preserved in Trinity College. The other Castle or house not mentioned in this list is in the Valley of Glencolumbkille about one hundred and fifty perches to the northeast of Mr. Terence O’Brien’s house. Mr. O’Brien states that there was an inscription on a stone placed near the doorway of this Castle so late as the year 1805, stating its erection by Turlough O’Brien, but he never could find out who this Turlough was, but thinks that he was O’Brien of Gleann Caoin - Glenquin, in the Parish of Kilkeedy.

Mr. O’Brien also states that the site of a Castle is traceable in the Townland of Cuskeame, at its extreme east end where it meres with the Townland of Cappagh. I cannot find this (if indeed it were a Castle) in the College list of O’Loughlin’s residences.

I could hear of no other antiquities in this Parish but some broken Cahers and a ruined Church in the Townland of Poulcarron, of the origin of which nothing is remembered.