Sligo Castle
Sligo Castle was a Norman-era stone castle founded in 1245 in Sligo town in the west of Ireland. The building is no longer extant; its probable location is the plot now occupied by Sligo Town Hall on Quay Street, and later local ruins in the area are known as Castle Connor.
Its prime
1520
Today
Demolished
As it stood in 1520
What Sligo Castle looked like in its prime.
A compact mid-16th-century stone fortification sited at the town quay, occupying the plot now beneath Sligo Town Hall. In its prime it presented as a mass of masonry rising directly from the riverfront and integrated with adjacent town streets, with continuous defensive walls enclosing an inner compound on the quay-level footprint later called Castle Connor; the silhouette is a close-knit, townbound stronghold rather than a dispersed rural castle.
Its story
The story of Sligo Castle.
Sligo Castle was built in 1245 by Maurice FitzGerald, Justiciar of Ireland. The Annals of Connacht record that Fedlim O'Conchobar, King of Connacht was bidden to build it at his own cost, taking the stones and lime of the spital house of the Trinity — a site the Justiciar had previously granted to the clergyman Clarus Mag Mailin for a hospital.
On 9 December 1294, after the forces of Richard de Burgh, Earl of Ulster destroyed the castle, John fitz Thomas captured the earl and imprisoned him in Lea castle for three months, until he relinquished all authority over fitz Thomas in Connacht. By the 1530s the O'Conors Sligo held the rebuilt castle, though generally in subjection to the O'Donnells, princes of Tyrconnell, to whom the castle and the territory of Carbury originally belonged.
Mentioned numerous times in the annals, the castle was of great importance in the history of the west of Ireland. A stone fort was built on the site after the 1641 rebellion; nothing now survives, its probable location being the plot occupied by Sligo Town Hall on Quay Street, and later local ruins in the area were known as Castle Connor.
Step inside
3 places to explore in 1520.
The record describes 3 distinct spots at Sligo Castle — including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Clans who held Sligo Castle.
The families that held Sligo Castle for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Built in 1245 by Maurice FitzGerald, Justiciar of Ireland.
The O'Conors Sligo held the rebuilt castle in the 1530s, generally in subjection to the O'Donnells.
The castle and the territory of Carbury originally belonged to the O'Donnells, princes of Tyrconnell.
