Carrigafoyle Castle(Caisleàn Charraig an Phoill in Irish Gaelic) is a castle on the banks of the River Shannon in County Kerry. Now in ruins, the castle was the scene of a historic siege in 1580, which reduced the fortress to rubble. Today, all you’ll find is a gutted tower and the remains of crumbling walls… The setting is extremely picturesque, and the château’s charm unsurpassed…
Carrigafoyle Castle was built in 1490 by Conor Liath O’Connor on a rock in a small bay off the Shannon estuary. It was considered to be the “Guardian of the Shannon” because of its strategic location alongside the major shipping lanes of the day, providing upstream supplies to the city of Limerick.
Architecturally, the castle took the form of a large, 86-metre-high square tower, similar to many castles in the northern Munster region, with double fortified walls encircling the fortress.
In 1580, Carrigafoyle Castle suffered the Desmond Geraldine Rebellions (1579-1583). At this time, the Irish Desmond family came into conflict with the British, wishing to combat the rise of Protestantism and reclaim land confiscated by the English.
At the time, Carrigafoyle castle belonged to the Desmond family, who had asked their Irish and Spanish soldiers to protect the fortress from possible assaults. At that very moment, the castle was carrying 50 Irish soldiers and 16 Spanish soldiers, as well as women and children.
The British commander, Sir William Pelham, marched through the Munster at the head of 600 English soldiers. Arriving at Carrigafoyle Castle, the troop set up camp to the south-west of the castle, intending to lay siege to the fortress.
The latter bombarded the castle for 2 days, using 3 half-cannons, and a ship anchored in the Shannon, a few meters from the castle, which kept firing red balls at the castle, at a frequency of 6 hours a day. As for the Irish and Spanish soldiers, they tried in vain to retaliate with projectiles launched from inside the castle…
On the second day, the ranks of the English troops were bolstered by the arrival of new soldiers from the Shannon. The final assault was made, and the attacks concentrated on the west wall. The impact was so powerful that the wall and tower shattered, reducing the castle’s foundations to rubble. The besieged fled in panic into the waters of the Shannon, but most were killed on the spot…
Carrigafoyle is now open to the public, and offers guided tours of the exterior and interior of the castle. (There’s no risk in visiting the bowels of the fortress: the tower is safe, although it was once bombed…
You can also access some of the upper floors via imposing stone staircases, and enjoy a breathtaking view of the Shannon from one of the tower’s windows.
You’ll discover the castle’s gutted tower, its crumbling west wall and the scattered ruins of the building, the only remnants of the siege. The castle’s setting is one of the most beautiful in the world, and you’ll be able to spend a wonderful time on the banks of the Shannon, admiring the ruined fortress.
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