Castle on the Ratty
by Rob Hemphill
Title
Castle on the Ratty
Artist
Rob Hemphill
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Bunratty Castle is situated only 5 miles from Shannon Airport in the west of Ireland. It's a location I have known for a long time and often take visitors to see it or even experience the medieval banquet.
Bunratty Castle (means 'Castle at the Mouth of the River Ratty') is a large 15th-century tower house in County Clare, Ireland. It is located in the centre of Bunratty village (Irish: Bun RĂ¡ite), by the N18 road between Limerick and Ennis, near Shannon Town and its airport. The castle and the adjoining folk park are run by Shannon Heritage as tourist attractions.
The first recorded settlement at the site may have been a Norsemen settlement/trading camp reported in the Annals of the Four Masters to have been destroyed by Brian Boru in 977. According to local tradition, such a camp was located on a rise south-west of the current castle. However, since no actual remains of this settlement have yet been found, its exact location is unknown and its existence is not proven.
The fourth castle, the present structure, was built by the MacNamara family after around 1425. Its builder may have been one Maccon Sioda MacNamara, chieftain of Clann Cuilein (i.e. the MacNamaras). He died before the castle was completed which happened under his son Sean Finn (died in 1467). At around 1500, Bunratty Castle came into the hands of the O'Briens (or O'Brians), the most powerful clan in Munster and later Earls of Thomond. They expanded the site and eventually made it their chief seat, moving it there from Ennis.
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Featured in the following FAA Groups:
"ABC Group" 02/15/2024
"Only Doors and Windows Photography" 06/28/2020
"10 Plus" 06/09/2020
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Uploaded
June 5th, 2020
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Viewed 319 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 03/26/2024 at 9:23 AM
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