Castlebawn facts for kids

Castlebawn is an old stone tower house built in the 1500s. It is located in County Clare, Ireland. You can find it on a small island in Lough Derg, which is part of the River Shannon. A path built by people connects the island to the shore at Bealkelly. The McNamara family built Castlebawn around 1540. It was badly damaged in 1827 but has since been fixed up and is now open for people to visit.

History of Castlebawn

Castlebawn was built by the McNamara family, who were important leaders in the area, during the mid to late 1500s. Records show that Owen McNamara built it, but the exact year is not known. The first time Castlebawn was mentioned in writing was in 1570. This was when Sean McNamara, a chief from eastern Clann-Cuilein, passed away and left Castlebawn to his son, Sir John McNamara. The McNamara family lived there until the 1600s. At that time, land was taken by the government under Oliver Cromwell, and the castle was no longer used.

In 1820, people started using the castle for their own purposes without permission. In 1827, the authorities surrounded the tower house to make these people leave. After the castle was empty, the authorities tried to knock it down using explosives. However, only the south wall and the roof were destroyed. The rest of the walls, even though they were damaged, stayed standing. This shows how strongly the castle was built!

Later, in the early 1900s, a man named Simon Flannery lived in the castle. Because of him, many local people still call it "Simon's Castle."

In 1929, a large power plant called Ardnacrusha power plant was built. This caused the water level in Lough Derg to rise a lot. As a result, the small island where Castlebawn stands became even smaller.

Restoring the Castle

In 1996, Pat and Mary Cody finished fixing up the old castle. Now, Castlebawn is open to the public during the summer months. However, you can only get to it by boat because it's on an island!