Dunguaire Castle

Dunguaire Castle (Irish: Dún Guaire) is a 16th-century tower house on the southeastern shore of Galway Bay in County Galway, Ireland, near Kinvara (also spelled Kinvarra).^[2] The name derives from the dun (fort) of King Guaire, the legendary king of Connacht.

Dunguaire Castle
Dunguaire Castle exterior
Location within Ireland
General information
Type	tower house
Location	Kinvara, County Galway, Ireland
Coordinates	53.142°N 8.926°W / 53.142; -8.926
Completed	16th century
Affiliation	Hynes clan[1]

The castle's 75-foot (23 m) tower and its defensive wall have been restored, and the grounds are open to tourists during the summer. Visitor can also (pre-)book a banquet, with a four course meal and entertainment; this service is offered from April to October.^[3]

History

The 19th century Gaelic scholar John O'Donovan states in his Ordnance Survey letters for County Galway, and his book, The Genealogies, Tribes and Customs of the Hy-Fiachrach, that Dunguaire was built by the Ó hEidhin (Hynes) clan, chiefs of Coill Ua bhFiachrach, the district around Kinvara, and also of Uí Fiachrach Aidhne an area coextensive with the diocese of Kilmacduagh covering the part of County Galway between the Burren and Galway Bay to the west and Slieve Aughty to the east.^{[4][citation needed]}

Dunguaire Castle was used in the 1969 Walt Disney movie Guns in the Heather in which the castle was featured as Boyne Castle. It was also the Scottish castle home of the main character in the 1979 film North Sea Hijack.^[5]

Entrance to Dunguaire Castle

Legends

Another regionally well known legend is the "Road of the Dishes" (Bothar na Mias), involving King Guaire and St. Colman of Kilmacduagh.^[6]

References

1. "Dunguaire Castle". discoverireland.ie. Fáilte Ireland. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
2. "Dunguaire Castle". Galway Tourism. 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
3. "Banquets". Dunguaire Castle. Retrieved 7 September 2022.
4. O'Donovan, John (1844). The genealogies, tribes, and customs of Hy-Fiachrach, commonly called O'Dowda's country : now first published from the Book of Lecan, in the library of the Royal Irish Academy, and from the genealogical manuscript of Duald Mac Firbis, in the library of Lord Roden. Irish Archeological Society. p. 67.
5. "Dunguaire Castle". visitgalway.ie. Visit Galway. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
6. Cathal O'Byrne (August 1936). "The Road of the Dishes". The Irish Monthly. 64 (758): 548–550. JSTOR 20513986.

53.142°N 8.926°W / 53.142; -8.926