History

Origins and the O’Griffy family

  Ballygriffy Castle is a late-medieval tower house in the townland of Ballygriffy South, in the parish of Dysert, County Clare. It belongs to the class of fortified residences known as tower houses, which became widespread in Ireland between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries and served primarily as residences incorporating defensive features rather than as purely military structures [1].
  The castle takes its name from the O’Griffy family and is associated with the Irish placename Baile Ua Griobhtha. Historical sources record the family name in several forms, including O’Griobhtha, O’Greefa, O’Griffy, O’Grighie, Griffey, Griffy, Greehy, Griffin, Griffith and Griffiths [2].
  The O’Griffys were a Dalcassian family associated with Cinel Cuallachta in the south-east of the barony of Inchiquin. Their genealogy was connected with that of the O’Deas, another prominent Dalcassian family of the region [2]. The O’Griffys possessed lands and interests in the area, including Ballygriffy and Magowna [3].
  The present tower is generally dated to the late fifteenth century, broadly around 1450–1500 [3]. The early ownership of the castle is difficult to reconstruct with certainty. An O’Brien pedigree places Ballygriffy in the possession of Murrogh O’Brien, son of Turlough Bog, sometime during the later fifteenth century, approximately corresponding with the architectural dating of the surviving tower [3].

The sixteenth century

  Ballygriffy appears explicitly in the Elizabethan survey of Clare castles compiled in 1570. The list records “Ballygrifie with Donogh o bryene mac morogh”, while the accompanying identification gives the present form as Ballygriffey, describing it as “almost perfect” and placing it approximately three and a half miles north-west of Ennis [4].
  A further list compiled in 1574 again associates Ballygriffy with the O’Griffy clan [4]. The differing references to O’Griffy and O’Brien possession illustrate the complex and changing pattern of landholding in Clare during the later sixteenth century [3].
  The following decades brought increasing English intervention in Clare and growing conflict between the native Irish lordships and the Crown. Ballygriffy subsequently appears in records concerning both the O’Griffys and the O’Briens. In 1582 Donough MacMurrogh O’Brien of Leamaneh and Dromoland was executed at Limerick following rebellion against the Crown. An inquisition after his death found that he had held Ballygriffy together with four small cottages and a quarter-land, and the property was subsequently forfeited to the Crown [3].
  In 1583 Ballygriffy and its cottages were granted by the Crown to Sir Turlough O’Brien of Dough, who was in good standing with Queen Elizabeth and acted as guardian to Conor O’Brien of Leamaneh [3]. The episode reflects the Crown’s attempt to reshape the traditional pattern of landholding in Clare by rewarding members of the Gaelic aristocracy who accepted English authority.

The Nine Years’ War

  Ballygriffy was also drawn into the wider conflict of the Nine Years’ War. In 1599 Red Hugh O’Donnell invaded Thomond and divided his forces into several groups. One party was sent towards Tullyodea and the gates of Ballygriffy Castle, while another was directed against Inchiquin Castle [5].
  The surviving account does not state that Ballygriffy Castle itself was captured or destroyed during the operation. It does, however, place the castle directly in the path of O’Donnell’s forces and confirms its position within the contested landscape of south-eastern Clare [5].

The early seventeenth century

  During the early seventeenth century Ballygriffy became increasingly associated with the O’Brien family of Leamaneh. Conor O’Brien held interests in Ballygriffy, and a series of surviving legal documents records successive mortgages, settlements and attempts to establish clear title to the castle and its lands [3].
  In 1612 Conor O’Brien mortgaged Ballygriffy Castle and its lands to Murtagh MacBrien O’Brien, the Protestant Bishop of Killaloe, for £150. In 1616 Conor’s son Donough in turn mortgaged the tower to Edmond O’Hogan of Moyhill for £70, with the mortgage redeemable after seven years. O’Hogan was entitled to recover up to £10 for work carried out with stone and timber, as well as the value of a crop of corn [3].
  In 1618 Sir Turlough O’Brien of Dough executed a quitclaim in favour of Donough O’Brien, relinquishing his interests in the castles and lands of Leamaneh and Ballygriffy. Donough continued attempting to clear the title to the property during the following decade. By 1634 he was recorded as having died in possession of Ballygriffy Castle and the “town” of Ballygriffy [3].

The seventeenth century

  The castle remained within the complicated inheritance of the O’Brien family during the political upheavals of the seventeenth century. In 1649 Conor O’Brien of Leamaneh conveyed Ballygriffy Castle and its associated denominations to his father-in-law, Turlough MacMahon of Clenagh, in trust for the six children of Conor and Máire Rua [3].
  Further settlements followed after the Restoration. In 1669 Ballygriffy Castle was released from the claim of Mary, daughter of Conor and Máire Rua, who had married Donough McNamara of Ballynacragga. The settlement involved a payment of £500 towards an £800 claim and transferred the property to Donough O’Brien, the first-born son and heir of Conor [3]. Ownership was confirmed to Conor’s son Donough in 1674.
  The 1675 Edenvale Survey provides an important snapshot of the castle at the end of this period. Ballygriffy was apparently still in good condition and was depicted surrounded by a bawn wall with a gate, confirming that the tower was at the centre of a fortified residential enclosure [3].

Architecture

  Ballygriffy is a rectangular tower house built principally of coursed rubble limestone, with finely cut stone used for its windows and doorways. The building measures approximately 9.2 metres north–south by 7.6 metres east–west and rises to about 18.7 metres in height [3].
  The ground-floor entrance has a pointed arch and was protected by a murder hole above the doorway. A small vaulted porter’s lodge is incorporated into the entrance arrangement. The main ground-floor vault retains impressions left by the wickerwork centering used during its construction, while three substantial squared and splayed embrasures accommodated defensive loops. An L-shaped ambry survives in the south-east corner [3].
  One of the castle’s more unusual features is a concealed chamber within the thickness of the south wall. Approximately 1.4 metres high, the chamber has a finely preserved wicker-impressed ceiling and was reached through a mural passage and trapdoor [3].
  The upper floors preserve a combination of defensive and domestic features, including trefoil-headed loops, double-light windows whose original mullions have disappeared, ambries and a slop stone. A stair screen and an overhead murder hole protected access to the upper chamber. The circular staircase in the north-east corner survives almost intact to wall-walk level and contains approximately sixty-nine steps, although its lower section is now obstructed by rubble [3].
  A second, apparently later doorway beneath a pointed arch gives access to the upper floors. Two shot holes cut into the stair risers provided additional protection for this approach. A fireplace was subsequently inserted into the upper part of the building, with its chimney cut through the wall and vault. This alteration created a large opening and contributed to the instability of the third floor [3].
  The original gables have not survived, leaving the form of the roof uncertain, although a hipped roof has been suggested. No substantial remains of the bawn are visible today, despite the 1675 Edenvale Survey showing the castle enclosed by a bawn wall and gate [3].

Later history and preservation

  After the seventeenth century the documentary history of Ballygriffy becomes considerably less detailed. Land transactions and rentals continued to refer to the property, but the surviving evidence does not establish with certainty when the castle finally ceased to be occupied. Its later abandonment should therefore be regarded as uncertain rather than assigned to a specific year or decade [3].
  The castle was documented visually in the nineteenth century. The National Library of Ireland holds material relating to Ballygriffy Castle by William Frazer, including views identified with July 1894 [6].
  Ballygriffy Castle was formally protected under Preservation Order 182/1947, dated 3 September 1947. The current National Monuments Service register identifies the monument as Ballygriffy Castle, Ballygriffy South, County Clare, under reference CL025-203002 [7].
  Today Ballygriffy remains one of County Clare’s surviving late-medieval tower houses and an important physical record of the changing fortunes of the O’Griffy and O’Brien families. Its combination of defensive details, domestic features and later alterations preserves the character of a fortified residence that remained part of the landscape through several centuries of political and social change [1].

References


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Tips

  Ballygriffy Castle is not an easy castle to visit by car. There is very little space to stop close to the site, so if you are driving there, take care not to obstruct the road or any access to neighbouring properties. This is very much a case of finding a safe place to leave the car and accepting that you may have to walk a short distance rather than expecting a proper castle car park.
  The first thing to know is that Ballygriffy Castle is a ruin, not a managed visitor attraction. There are no visitor facilities, no maintained paths through the building and no safe route for exploring the interior. In fact, I would strongly recommend not entering the castle at all.
  The reason is not simply that the building is old. The interior is genuinely dangerous. There are holes and openings in the floors of the upper levels which can be concealed by vegetation, making them extremely difficult to see. A perfectly innocent-looking patch of greenery may therefore be covering a drop rather than solid ground.
  The stairs are another serious problem. They have deteriorated considerably through age and exposure and should not be treated as a safe way of climbing through the tower. Combined with the concealed openings, unstable masonry and vegetation, they make the interior particularly hazardous.
  The entrance is currently obstructed by a barrier, while the doorway itself is covered with a metal grid and wooden panels. These measures are clearly intended to discourage people from entering the ruin. Do not cross the barrier or attempt to get through the covered entrance. The fact that it may look possible does not mean that it is safe or permitted.
  If you are visiting Ballygriffy because you are interested in medieval architecture, the exterior is already rewarding. Take your time to look at the tower house from a safe position and pay attention to its masonry, windows, defensive openings and surviving architectural details rather than risking a climb inside.
  One final point is particularly important: please do not move, remove or dismantle anything that has been placed around the entrance. If you encounter barriers, grids or wooden panels, leave them exactly as you found them. They are there for a reason, and Ballygriffy is an archaeological monument rather than an abandoned building that can simply be explored at will.
  In short, Ballygriffy is one of those castles where the sensible approach is to admire it from the outside. The ruin has survived for centuries; there is no good reason to risk a serious injury for the sake of seeing its interior.