Located on the shores of Lough Gill, this is Parke’s Castle, County Leitrim. Despite its name, the building was originally a tower house erected by the O’Rourkes and it was here that Sir Brian O’Rourke entertained Francisco de Cuéllar, the sea captain shipwrecked in Ireland in 1588 after participating in the Spanish Armada, who later wrote an account of his time in this country. Sir Brian just a few years later was convicted of treason by the English government and hanged in London’s Tyburn. In the early 17th century his tower house and surrounding land were acquired by the planter Sir Roger Parke who created the building seen today. In 1677 two of Parke’s children were drowned in the lough, and his surviving daughter Anne married Sir Francis Gore and moved to his home in neighbouring County Sligo. As a result, the castle, a particularly fine example of the plantation fortified house, fell into disrepair. It remained in that state until restored by the Office of Public Works in the last century and opened to the public.