Ireland · 15th century
Leamaneh Castle is a ruined castle located in the townland of Leamaneh North, parish of Kilnaboy, between the villages of Corofin and Kilfenora at the border of the region known as the Burren in County Clare, Ireland. It consists of a 15th-century tower house and a 17th-century mansion.
The castle's name "Leamaneh" is believed to be derived from the Irish léim an éich which, when translated into English means "the horse's leap" or léim an fheidh ("the deer's leap"). It is also sometimes spelled "Lemeneagh Castle".
The castle is located at an important local crossroads and the place where the Baronies of Burren, Corcomroe and Inchiquin met. Today the road R476 from Kilfenora to Kilnaboy village and the R480 north to Ballyvaughan intersect there.
The castle was originally a basic, 5-storied Irish tower house which was built c. 1480 – c. 1490, probably by Toirdhealbhach Donn Ó Briain of the O'Brien family, one of the last of the High Kings of Ireland and a direct descendant of Brian Boru.
In 1543, Turlough Donn's son, Murrough surrendered his title of King to Henry VIII and, in return, was created the 1st Earl of Thomond and Baron Inchiquin. In 1550, Murrough gave Leamaneh to his third son, Donough. Donough was hanged in Limerick in 1582 as a rebel.
In 1639, Donough's grandson, Conor O'Brien married Máire Nic Mhathúna (MacMahon). She became one of the most famous women in Irish folklore who, due to her flaming red hair, was commonly known as Máire Rua ("Red Mary"). She was born in 1615 or 1616. Her father was Sir Torlach Rua MacMahon, Lord of Clonderlaw and her mother was Lady Mary O'Brien, daughter of the third Earl of Thomond. Her first husband, Daniel O'Neylan (also sometimes written O'Neillan or Neylan) of Dysert O'Dea Castle in north Clare died young and upon his death, she gained control of his substantial estate and a £1,000 fortune. This wealth enabled her and Conor to build a more comfortable mansion on to the tower house.
Part of the tower house was demolished and replaced by a 4-storied mansion around 1648. Máire accompanied her husband on raids against English settlers. In 1651, he was mortally wounded fighting on the Royalists' side at Inchicronan (Crusheen).
Text adapted from “Leamaneh Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Leamaneh Castle ranks #3,484 of 9,035 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #49 of the 178 mapped in Ireland. Founded 1480, it is older than 44% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 556 atlas entries founded in the 15th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,224 times in the last 60 days, more than 56% of the atlas. 11 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Galway, 32 km away. See how Ireland compares in the castle statistics.
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