O'Dea Castle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids O'Dea Castle |
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O'Day Castle
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| Location | 3 miles (5 km) south of Corofin, County Clare, Ireland |
| Built | 1470–90 |
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O'Dea Castle, also known as Dysert O'Dea Castle, is an old fortified tower in Ireland. It's located in County Clare, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Corofin. This tower was once the main home of the O'Dea family.
Diarmaid O'Dea built the castle between 1470 and 1490. It stands about 15 meters (50 feet) tall on a strong limestone base. The castle is right next to the old Dysert O'Dea Monastery.
Contents
A Look Back in Time
The Battle of Dysert O'Dea
A very important battle happened near this site on May 10, 1318. It was called the Battle of Dysert O'Dea. This battle helped to keep the Anglo-Normans (people from England and France who had settled in Ireland) out of the area for over 200 years.
Building and Early Owners
The castle itself was built much later, between 1470 and 1490, by Diarmaid O'Dea. He was a leader of the O'Dea family.
In 1570, a powerful leader called the Earl of Ormond took the castle from the O'Dea family by force. But by 1584, the O'Deas had gotten it back. At that time, a man named Domhnall Maol O'Dea owned it.
Times of Conflict
Domhnall supported other Irish leaders during the Nine Years' War (1594-1603). Because of this, Dysert Castle was taken by Daniel Neylon. He was a Protestant Bishop from Kildare. In 1594, he gave the castle to his son, John.
However, the castle soon returned to the O'Dea family. Later, during the Irish Confederate Wars (a series of wars in Ireland in the mid-1600s), Conor Cron O'Dea supported the Irish forces. He helped in a successful attack on Ballyalla Castle in 1642.
After the Wars
After the city of Limerick was captured by Cromwellian forces in 1651, they kept a small group of soldiers at O'Dea Castle. When these soldiers left, they sadly destroyed parts of the castle. They broke down the battlements (the top parts of the walls), the upper floors, and the staircase.
The Neylon family returned to the castle after this. But during the time of King Charles II, Conor Cron O'Dea got the castle back again. Conor's sons, Michael and James, supported King James II. When James II lost power, the O'Dea family lost the castle once more. The land then went to the Synge family. Over time, the castle slowly fell into ruin.
Bringing the Castle Back to Life
In 1970, a man named John O'Day from Wisconsin, USA, bought the old tower. He paid to have it restored and fixed up. The castle was then rented to the Dysert Development Association. With help from the Irish Tourist Board, they opened it in 1986. It became "The Dysert O'Dea Castle Archaeology Centre." It showed old items from the Stone Age up to 1922.
O'Dea Castle Today
Today, the center is known as the Clare Archaeology Centre. You can see many interesting things there. There are exhibits of local archaeological items from 1000 BC to 1700 AD. You can also learn about local history from the last three centuries. Visitors can even walk along parts of the castle walls.
The Dysert O'Dea Archeology Trail is a path that includes other historical sites around the tower. This includes the remains of the Dysert O'Dea Monastery.
See also
- Tower houses in Britain and Ireland
