Athenry Castle Richard de Burgo granted a charter to Meiler de Bermingham in 1235 and shortly afterwards, de Bermingham started building his castle at Athenry. Probably completed by 1250, it consists of a three-story tower surrounded by the remains of a strong outer wall and is entered at first-floor level through an unusually decorated doorway. Recently re-roofed, the interior now contains an audio-visual room and exhibition. The castle is open to visitors from the end of March to the end of October. |
Dominican Priory Athenry Dominican priory was one of the great Dominican foundations in Ireland, founded by Milo de Bermingham c.1241. Located 25km to the east of Galway city, the priory initially stood on the outskirts of the town walls of Athenry but was eventually enveloped by the town walls. Athenry priory was a dynamic building, undergoing several phases of construction that revealed the shared patronage of the Dominicans between Gaelic Irish and Anglo-Norman benefactors. The names that feature on the grave slabs of the church and within the fifteenth-century Athenry register are further proof of this. |