Gallarus Castle

Gallarus Castle is an Irish tower house located in Baile na nGall, a Gaeltacht village on the Dingle Peninsula and is 1km away from the famous Gallarus Oratory.

The four storey rectangular tower has lost its battlements but retains its vaulted roof. The tower is built using spilt stone rubble and pinning’s, laid in mortar with face bedded sandstone quoins. The internal four storeys of Gallarus Castle are near identical, that being a main chamber, a mural passage within the thickness of the north wall, which in later times accommodated a stair which started from the third storey. The main floors had their beams inbuilt and were supported by corbels on the east and west wall. From the second story upwards both the east and west wall slope inward increasing the thickness of the wall space and allowed the mural passages to be built.

The north wall holds the original entrance to the ground floor with no access from the ground floor to the first floor, internally. The first floor was accessed by a ladder and has two narrow double-splayed loops (windows) in the east on south walls, both being closed by wooden shutters and draw bars. The south end of the east wall has a wall-cupboard and a corner cupboard at the south west.

The first floor has windows on the south, east and west walls – narrow lights with chamfered jambs rebated for shutter. The south window had a window seat. A mural passage and garderobe are also present.

Access to the second floor, may have been from a wooden stairs, has windows as per the previous floor, i.e. on the south, east and west walls – again the south window paired with a window seat.

The third floor is as the previous and has a short flight of steps leading out onto the roof walk.

Gallarus Castle is thought to date to the 15^th century, being built for the Knight of Kerry also known as The Green Knight and one of three Hiberno-Norman hereditary knighthoods which existed since feudal times in Ireland. The White Knight and the Knight of Glin are the other two. The Knight of Kerry was part of the Fitzgerald dynasty and also known as the Gearldines. Gallarus Castle was occupied by the Gearldines until 1688. A land grant from King James I in 1605 notes that the Gallarus estate belonged to Gerald Fitzrichard Fitzgerald.

Somehow the great Earl of Cork, Richard Boyle, was, in 1631, getting paid rent for the Gallarus estate from Maurice Fitzgerald but it seems the Fitzgerald’s had leased Gallarus castle to Boyle. Boyle makes note of the rent received as being £4/4/6 (pounds, shillings and pence) with Boyle further noting that he, Boyle, gave back and bestowed upon poor Maurice Fitzgerald £4/4/6.

Today Gallarus castle is part of what is known as Cosán na Naomh, the ancient pilgrim path from Ventry to Mt. Brandon, other sites included are Caherdorgan stone fort, Kilmalkedar church and Gallarus Oratory.

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This national monument is protected in accordance with the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014