DUNGUAIRE CASTLE

Dunguaire Castle is a 16th Century fortified tower house which has been restored to it’s past glory. The castle name derives from the legendary king of Connacht, ‘Dun of King Guaire’.

The castle is believed to have been built by the Hynes family (Ó hEidhin clan) who were chiefs of Coill Ua bhFiachrach, the district around Kinvara, since 662. In the 17th century the castle passed hands onto the Martyn clan of Galway. They remained in the stronghold until 1924 where it was purchased by Oliver St. John Gogarty, a well known surgeon and writer, who restored the castle.

The castle played host to literary greats such as George Bernard Shaw, Lady Gregory, J.M Synge and W.B. Yeats. Furthermore, the castle featured in the 1969 Walt Disney movie, Guns in the Heather, which cast the star Kurt Russell. It hit the screens once more as a depiction of a Scottish castle in the 1979 film North Sea Hijack.