Athenry Castle

Athenry Castle

A keep in a medieval town

In County Galway, in the west of Ireland, the small town of Athenry holds a remarkable treasure: it is one of the best-preserved medieval walled towns in the whole country. Much of its old town wall still stands, with a great gate and towers, and at one corner rises Athenry Castle, a sturdy Norman keep that has guarded the town for nearly 800 years.

Built by the Normans

Athenry Castle was built around 1240 by Meiler de Bermingham, a Norman lord who had won lands in the west of Ireland. It is a fine example of an early Norman keep — a strong, three-storey stone tower set within a walled enclosure, with a hall above and storage below, entered by a doorway raised above the ground for safety.

The Normans built such castles to hold down the lands they had conquered, and Athenry became the centre of a new Norman town, laid out beside the castle and protected by walls.

A walled town

What makes Athenry special is how much of its medieval character survives. The town walls, built to protect the Norman settlers, still ring much of the old town, and the imposing North Gate still stands across the street. Few towns in Ireland give such a clear sense of what a medieval walled town was like.

Athenry's importance is even remembered in a famous song, "The Fields of Athenry", known and sung around the world — though the song tells a sadder, later story of the Great Famine.

Battles and survival

Athenry saw its share of fighting. A great battle was fought near the town in 1316, when the Norman settlers defeated a large Irish army in one of the bloodiest clashes of the age. The town's walls were strengthened afterwards, partly paid for, it is said, with goods taken after the battle.

Over the centuries the town declined from its medieval peak, but because it never grew into a large modern city, its walls, gate and castle survived remarkably well.

Restored and protected

In modern times Athenry Castle has been restored, with a new roof and floors added to the keep so that visitors can climb through it and see how it was built and used. It is now a state-cared-for monument, and together with the town walls and gate it makes Athenry a wonderful place to explore the Norman age in Ireland.

Visiting today

Visitors can climb the restored Norman keep, learn how it was built and defended, and then walk the surviving town walls and through the medieval North Gate. The whole town of Athenry is steeped in the Middle Ages, with its old streets, priory ruins and famous song. Sturdy, well-preserved and set in a rare medieval walled town, Athenry Castle is one of the best places in Ireland to discover the world of the Norman conquest.