Ballindooley Castle is one of a number of Castles in Castlegar, County Galway, Ireland.
- It is believed to be a De Burgo House and is built on the right hand side of the Galway to Headford road. This is a National Road, designated the N84.
- Coordinates are Latitude of 53.308401 North and longitude of -9.028284 West, centered on Ballindooley Castle, in decimal format.This castle is unusually close to the road (relatively new); a few yards (metres), perhaps. The original road would have been the higher one to the North which passes through the Village and still exists today.
- Around the year 1990, it was bought and renovated to the point that it can be lived in with a modern degree of comfort. The owner is based in Chicago, but is a Mayo woman with friends in Castlegar.
Maps
See a dynamic map of Ballindooley Castle.
See on Yahoo
The Photograph below is of the Place Name positioned beside the Castle.
In the Photograph above, you can see it in its renovated state - taken from the back road of Ballindooley village to the North of the Castle.
The Photo below is of the North - East Face.
Its exterior was rough-dashed, presumably to offer some weather protection. It may also be the case that that rough dash was a common rendering practice and applied to castles of a particular period.
Below, is a You Tube video which may reveal some of the interior -
You may notice the narrow windows, a defensive architectural strategy which was common in castles and not a phobia about sunlight.
In the 1980's and if you had nerve enough, you could climb this Castle - and so could livestock. So someone might have nudged a few steps from the spiral stair case (hear say - folklore).
Behind or bearing South-West, is the Ballindooley Lake ( Lat. 53.306311 and long. -9.027383 ) , a Lough which was much larger once upon a time, and reputed to have been connected to the Lough Corrib.
A scheme known as the Corrib Drainage Scheme, undoubtedly changed the elevation / access of and to the lake, but probably not as much as the construction of the Salmon Weir Bridge (built through both administration and direct input, by the British establishment).
Today even, a general sense of history can be noted by simple observation; there is no "line of sight" or visual connection between the Castle in Castlegar Village and the Castle of Balllindooley.
