Ballyhannon Castle
| Ballyhannon Castle | |
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 Location of Ballyhannon Castle in Ireland
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| Location | 3 km south west of Quin, County Clare, Ireland |
| Coordinates | 52°48′5.3424″N 8°54′29.5014″W / 52.801484000°N 8.908194833°WCoordinates: 52°48′5.3424″N 8°54′29.5014″W / 52.801484000°N 8.908194833°W |
| Built | 15th century |
Ballyhannon Castle is a medieval Irish castle dating back to the 15th century, located near the village of Quin in County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland. It is fully intact and in the Irish Governmental records it is registered as a National Monument and "Listed/Protected" structure, intended to protect its historic, architectural and aesthetic significance.
The castle of Ballyhannon, also known in later times as Castlefergus, most likely from its proximity to the River Fergus, is a towerhouse of atypical internal design within the context of the Co. Clare group of towerhouses. The castle stands in the townland of Castlefergus close to Latoon Creek, which itself feeds into the River Fergus. Ballyhannon townlands (both north and south) lie to the north east of the castle. The older spelling, Ballyhannan, is retained in these townland names. The townland name can be translated as O'Hannan's or O'Hannon's home. Although there are many substantial families of Hannon in Munster and Connaught, the name seldom appears in the annals of medieval Ireland.
The death in 1266 of Maelisa O'Hannen, prior of Roscommon, is one of the few such entries. In the census of 1659 the name was found in considerable numbers in the Barony of Bunratty. The prefix O, was dropped in the submergence of Gaelic Ireland and has not been resumed. Strictly speaking Hannon is the anglicised form of the Gaelic O' hAnnáin, a name chiefly associated with Co. Limerick. It was common at the end of the sixteenth century in many parts of Connaught and Munster. The Hannons or Ó hAnnáin are a Dalcassian sept of noble Milesian ancestry whose members attained the status of knighthood, and whose patrimonial lands were in this area, south of Quin. Their name is still retained in the townlands of Ballyhannan north and Ballyhannan south. Although the Hannon name is remembered in the name of Ballyhannon Castle, their history is of an earlier period and no references to the family can be found in connection with the history of the castle itself.
The castle was built about 1490 by Hugh, and possibly Síoda, sons of Donnchadh MacNamara. This period was described by the noted antiquarian, T. J. Westropp, as the "Golden Age of castle-building in Thomond" because of the high standard of construction which had been achieved by the masons at this period. Although Ballyhannon Castle was the home of the MacNamaras for many centuries, there are some references to the O'Briens, on whose lands it stood, in relation to its history. For example in the year 1560, a grant was made by Queen Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) to Conor O'Brien (c.1534 - 1581), Earl of Thomond, of Ballyhannon Castle, and several other castles, previously held by Donnell O'Brien; "To hold in tail male, by service of one knight's fee", meaning that the property would pass onto his male heirs, subject to military service to the Queen. In the lists of the castles of the county for the years 1570 and 1574 Ballyhannon Castle was owned by Covea Riogh MacNamara, son of Mahon. Some transcriptions of these lists record the castle as being owned by William Neylon. This was due to an error in aligning the columns during the transcription of the original manuscript lists.
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