Aughnanure Castle
Caisleán Achadh na nlubhar
County Galway, Connacht Near Oughterard in Ireland
Aughnanure Castle Location in Ireland
Coordinates	53°25′04″N 9°16′16″W / 53.41778°N 9.27111°W / 53.41778; -9.27111
Type	Tower house
Site information
Owner	OPW
Open to the public	Yes
Condition	Fully restored
Website	https://heritageireland.ie/visit/places-to-visit/aughnanure-castle/
Site history
Built	16th Century
Built by	O'Flaherty
In use	17th Century
Fate	Fell to ruin
Battles/wars	Siege of Galway
National monument of Ireland
Official name	Aughanure Castle
Reference no.	470[1]

Aughnanure Castle (Irish: Caisleán Achadh na nlubhar) is a tower house in Oughterard, County Galway, Ireland. It is situated in the west of Ireland. It was built by the O'Faherty's in the 16th century.

History

The castle was built by the O'Flaherty family in the 16th century, one of Connacht's most notable lord families. Aughnanure is one of over 200 tower houses in County Galway, constructed mainly by Gaelic and Anglo-Norman land-owning families. The tower lies close to the shores of Lough Corrib, and translates to "the field of the yews" in Irish (Achadh na nlubhar).^[2]

The castle was controlled by the O'Flaherty chieftains until 1572, when it was captured by Sir Edward Fitton, President of Connaught, and granted to a junior member of the clan who accepted the legal formalities of recognizing "the Crown." It was used to blockade Galway during the Cromwellian invasion. Soon after, it was granted to the Earl of Clanrickard, and then reclaimed by the O'Flahertys. It later fell into the hands of Lord St George as the foreclosure of a mortgage.^[3] It is now managed by the Office of Public Works, the Irish State body responsible for national monuments and historic properties.^{[citation needed]}