Kilcloony Tower House

Community Monuments Fund 2022

B. Doherty

Kilcloony work in progress

B. Doherty 2022

Base of fireplace in S wall directly on top of vault

Martin Fitzpatrick

Repairs to nich in guards room

Martin Fitzpatrick

Milltown Heritage Group were successful in their application for Community Monuments Funding 2022 to continue conservation works at Kilclooney Tower House, Milltown. This follows the preparation of a Conservation Management Plan in 2020, and initial works 2021, both financed by Community Monuments Funding, National Monuments Service, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

Local Employment

A second season of conservation works continued on stabilising the monument. Works were monitored under license by Archaeologist Martin Fitzpatrick, supervised by Grade 1 Conservation Architect Fergal McNamara, 7L Architects and Conservation Engineer John Britton, Kinvara Konsult Ltd. Local stone masons Galway Stone were the contractors.

Recorded Monument

Kilclooney Tower House is a Recorded Monument ( GA016:062001) in private ownership within a complex of archaeological monuments including a bawn, possible mill, souterrain, field systems of local and national importance. This is one of 129 castles or tower houses recorded for the County of Galway by the National Monuments Service. It is recorded as being in possession of Donell O Huiginn in 1574.

Bardic School

A poem dated in the C16th refers to seventeen poets from Ulster being educated at Kilcooney. A bardic school was a place where students, kinsmen and poets would travel to further their education and study their art. Many have been documented but physical evidence of few actually survive.

A reconstruction of the tower house and further background information is available on Milltown Heritage Group Website

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