Two years later Lord Granard summoned the castle, but the governor, named O’Conor, refused to surrender. Thereupon he despatched Baldearg O’Donnell and a thousand men to lay siege to the place. They brought with them one 12-pounder and two small field-pieces, and as soon as O’Conor saw the guns he surrendered, upon condition the garrison might march out with their belongings and proceed to Sligo.
After this period the castle was dismantled, and the land subsequently passed to the Gore Booths. Of late there has been some talk of erecting a modern institution within the old walls.
| Authorities Consulted. |
| Wood-Martin, “History of Sligo.” |
| O’Rorke, “History of Sligo.” |
| State Papers. |
| Atkinson, “Book of Ballimote.” |
| Parliamentary Gazetteer. |
| Bagwell, “Ireland under the Tudors.” |
BALLYSHANNON CASTLE
The name used by the early annalists to denote Ballyshannon, was Athseanaigh, which signified the “Ford of Seanach,” who was ancestor of the Princes of Tirconnell. “Bel” stands for mouth, and the modern designation is a corruption of the Celtic name meaning “the entrance to Seanach’s ford.”
The town is situated on both sides of the river Erne, about eleven miles south-south-west of the town of Donegal, to the extreme south of the county.
The castle was on the north bank of the river, and commanded the principal ford. For this reason its possession was of immense strategical importance, it being the key to the province of Tirconnell. Of the great fortress of the O’Donnells only a small portion of one of the walls remains. This is on the north side of the market yard, part of it being incorporated with a grain store and part with a butter shed. It is 10 feet high and 5 feet thick.
The fortress originally occupied the whole of the market square, and it is most likely that its stones were used in the erection of a cavalry barracks, which subsequently occupied the present market enclosure, but which has now been removed.
Round the castle stretched a beautiful park, the name being still preserved in some old leases. This extended almost to the summit of the hill on the north. Quantities of human bones have been found in the neighbourhood.