O'Dea Castle

O'Dea Castle
O'Dea Castle
	O'Dea Castle
Location	3 miles (5 km) south of Corofin, County Clare, Ireland
Coordinates	52°54′41″N 9°3′59″W / 52.91139°N 9.06639°W
Built	1470–90
	Location of O'Dea Castle in Ireland

O'Dea Castle, also known as Dysert O'Dea Castle, is an Irish fortified tower house, loosely described as a castle^[1] at Dysert O'Dea (Irish: Dísert, meaning 'hermitage'), the former O'Dea clan stronghold, 5 kilometres (3 mi) from Corofin, County Clare.^[2] It was built between 1470 and 1490 by Diarmaid O'Dea, Lord of Cineal Fearmaic, and stands some 50 feet (15 m) high on a limestone outcrop base measuring 20 by 40 feet (6 by 12 m).^[3] The tower is adjacent to Dysert O'Dea Monastery, close to the R476 road.

^ Ua Croinin and Breen comment in The Other Clare, 1985: "The castle itself is more correctly designated a tower-house as it falls easily in the category of such fortified houses built in great numbers throughout the southern part of Ireland between 1400 and 1600." (Detailed reference below.)
^ Caisleán Uí Dheá Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 22 November 2011.
^ Dysart O'Dea Castle, Co. Clare by Risteard Ua Croinin and Martin Breen, The Other Clare, Volume 9, page 17. Shannon Archaeological and Historical Society, April 1985.

[1] Ua Croinin and Breen comment in The Other Clare, 1985: "The castle itself is more correctly designated a tower-house as it falls easily in the category of such fortified houses built in great numbers throughout the southern part of Ireland between 1400 and 1600." (Detailed reference below.)

[2] Caisleán Uí Dheá Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 22 November 2011.

[otherclare-3] Dysart O'Dea Castle, Co. Clare by Risteard Ua Croinin and Martin Breen, The Other Clare, Volume 9, page 17. Shannon Archaeological and Historical Society, April 1985.

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