‘The castle of Ballintober, the chief seat of the O’Conors, in which Felim [Felim Geancach O’Connor King of Connaught, 1406–1474] spent most of his time, deserves more than a passing notice. This castle…was one of the principal strongholds of the Irish and does not appear to have ever been for any considerable length of time in the possession of the English. No record remains to show when it was first erected. According to tradition, it dates back to the time of Cathal Crovedearg, and to the reign of King John. It is first mentioned in the Irish annals about a century later, and between that time and the period at which we have now arrived it underwent many vicissitudes. It was frequently besieged, often partially destroyed, sometimes burned, then restored, and was constantly an object of contention between the rival chiefs…’
‘…The plan of the castle consisted of a quadrangular enclosure, varying from 277 to 264 feet in length, and from 245 to 247 feet in breadth. It was defended by strong towers at each angle, and by two others, one at each side of the grand entrance, which opened upon an esplanade at the end of the ridge towards the east. The whole was surrounded by a broad fosse. On the south and to the east, the fosse was constructed to retain water; and even to the present day, on the former side, it accomplishes this purpose, and enough of water remains to show the object of its construction. On the two opposite sides, the ditches, deep, broad and cut into the rock, are at present quite dry; but as they lie below the level of the water, these also could on occasion be flooded. There appears to have been once a draw-bridge from the postern gate opening out on the crest of the ridge.
The grand towers are all polygonal, but there is a want of symmetry in their construction, no two agreeing in the number and length of their sides. The south-west tower presents six faces on the exterior, the north-west five, the north-east seven and the south-east six. The sides of the north-west tower are respectively in length, beginning at the west curtain, 22 ft 6 in; 9 ft 9 in; 11 ft; and 11 ft 7 in.
The south-east tower is about 30 feet in breadth, and it and all the towers are elongated towards the interior of the great court. The towers, especially the two to the west, had very substantial walls, through which, in the lower parts, there were loop-holes for defence; the upper stories being furnished with windows of habitable apartments. The interior of each has been for a long time in a ruinous state, the two to the east being completely gutted. In the north-west tower, some doorways, with lancets and flatly-pointed arches, in very pleasing proportion, remain in tolerable preservation; and a fire-place and chimney-piece, with arms bearing the date 1629, appear on the walls of the third story, but the floors of the upper stories have altogether disappeared…’
‘…From the earliest date at which any reference is made to it in history until its destruction as a habitable residence at the end of the seventeenth century, Ballintober castle appears to have been, with some interruptions, in the possession of the O’Conors, and their principal stronghold. When they divided into the two septs of O’Conor Don and O’Conor Roe, it became the residence of the former. In 1526 we read that Lord Kildare took the castles of Ballintober and Castlerea, and handed them over to O’Conor Roe, from whom they were taken the following year by O’Conor Don, aided by O’Donnell.
In 1571 Sir Edward Fytton, Governor of Connaught, again took the castles of Ballintober and Castlerea, and raised the latter to the ground, and Ballintober apparently remained in the hands of the English until the year 1581, when the Annals of Loch Cé inform us that “Ballintober, which the Saxons had, was given to Dualtach, son of Toole O’Conor.” This Dualtach was the nephew of O’Conor Don, and had set up in rivalry to him. Apparently the castle did not long remain in Dualtach’s possession as shortly after we find O’Conor Don again in occupation, and there he died in 1585. In this same year the castle and the lands adjoining it were surrendered to Queen Elizabeth by his son and successor Hugh O’Conor Don, who received them back under patent from the English sovereign. In 1598, the walls of the castle were battered down by O’Donnell, who having defeated the English at the Battle of the Curlieus, attacked O’Conor Don, and obliged him to surrender. Whether the castle was ever fully restored is doubtful; but as it appears from an ancient MS in the Ashburnham collection that a considerable portion of it was rebuilt by Sir Hugh O’Conor after O’Donnell’s attack, it is more than probable that he completely restored it…Charles O’Conor, the grandson of this Sir Hugh, was the last of the O’Conors who resided at Ballintober. Probably when he left it, it ceased to be inhabited, and became the ruin into which pillagers for well-dressed stones speedily converted it.’
Extracts from The O’Conors of Connaught: An Historical Memoir by Charles Owen O’Conor Don (Dublin, 1891)
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