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HISTORY
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| Origin
of Castleconnor |
| The
original castle was built by Piers de Bermingham in
the early 13th Century when they disposed the O'Dowda's,
the sitting chieftans. The O'Dowda's now weakened
by the presence of the Normans, aligned themselves
with the O'Connors of Sligo. This alignment allowed
the O Dowda's to employ their own Merceneries provided
they remained loyal to O'Connors. In 1371 O Dowda's
& O'Connors retook Tireagh and Ardnaree. O Dowda's
occupied Ardnaree Castle and O'Connors retained the
land for lease known as Castleconnor. Hence the name
Castle Connor. There was no mention of Castle from
the date of take over until the 16th Century suggests
that it was in ruins. This would be a trademark of
the Sligo O'Connors, they were of military background
and would have seen the castle as a stronghold for
a potential enemy invasion. In 1520 Conor O' Dowda
built a new castle on the same site as the original
the ruins seen today is the original Anglo Norman
castle. The fact that Conor O Dowda built a castle
in more recent times it is believed that this is the
origin of Castle Conor. History would show that the
name Castleconnor existed for approximately 200 years
prior to Conor O' Dowda's Castle and was most probably
named after theO'Connors of Sligo the overlords of
Tireagh. |
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