Aughnanure Castle

Aughnanure Castle is a 16th-century L-shaped tower house near Oughterard in County Galway, built by the O’Flaherty clan. The castle retains its tower house core and parts of the surrounding bawn wall.

The principal features are the tall stone tower with multiple floors and the adjoining curtain wall and gatehouse, which together form a compact defensive complex visitors can walk around and enter. The site gives a clear example of a Gaelic lord’s fortified residence from the early modern period.

Constructed in the early 1500s, the castle was a seat of the O’Flaherty family and later saw contest and occupation during the period of English expansion in Ireland. It has since been conserved and is presented as a historic monument for public access.

The castle lies on the edge of Connemara’s lowlands near the village of Oughterard in County Galway, set within a rural landscape of lakes and farmland.

• Architecture: The structure is an L-shaped, multi-storey stone tower house with an enclosing curtain wall and gatehouse typical of 16th-century Gaelic lordship residences.
• Visitor access: Managed and conserved as a historic monument, it is accessible to visitors who can view the interior rooms and the battlements.