Why is McDermott’s Castle Famous?
McDermott’s Castle is famous for its location, a rich history and more recently a picture of the abandoned castle went viral on the Internet giving it more instant fame.
A picture of McDermott’s Castle uploaded by @urbanexplorers on Twitter went viral with more than 4075 retweets.
McDermott’s Castle has fascinated people for years because of its location on an island as well as the fact that it has been completely abandoned.
Location
McDermott’s Castle is a protected national monument located on Castle Island, an island of 0.23 ha (0.57 ac) in the southeast corner of Lough Key County Roscommon, Ireland
The site to the castle has been fortified since at least the 13th century and it seems that the tower house may date from the 16th century. Much of the current building of McDermott’s Castle dates to the 19th century.
History
The Island has been home to a castle since 1184 and the Annals of Loch Cé report that a lightning bolt caused a fire.
The castle after the 1235 conquest of Connacht by Richard Mór de Burgh, 1st Baron of Connaught. During this watThe castle came under siege, firstly by a raft-mounted catapult, and then by fire ships exposing the castle’s vulnerability on the island. Cormac MacDermott, King of Moylurg, was forced to surrender and the castle was taken over by the Baron of Connaught.
Early in the 19th century the castle was in ruin, until architect John Nash was commissioned to redevelop MCDermott’s castle as a summer house which unfortunately burned down during the mid-20th century
The castle was put up for sale for €80,000 in 2018 making news headlines but the sales offer was withdrawn and the castle remains in private ownership.
Archeological excavation in 2019 revealed that the island itself is essentially a multi-period fortification, with the earliest elements dating to the early medieval era.. Archaeology Magazine reported on the findings.
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