Tromra Castle along County Clare’s Atlantic Coast

Tromra Castle, built in the 1400s, stands watch over Ireland’s County Clare coast near Quilty and Seafield, where many Spanish sailors lost their lives in 1588 when stormy weather drove their ships on the rocks.

While the current configuration of the castle was built in the 1400s, records indicate some sort of structure was on this site as early as 1215.

Believed to have been built for the Teige O’Brien Clan, the castle’s owners and residents changed multiple times in the face of turf wars and political meanderings.

It became the property of the Earl of Thomond and Turlagh O’Brien in 1641 but was attacked and plundered by Irish rebels and Edmond O’Flaherty of Connemara only a year later.

In 1660, the owner became Samuel Burton, with ownership transferring to Alice Burton in 1712. At some point thereafter, the O’Briens were back in residence as late as 1901.

The drama and political intrigue surrounding all of these ownership changes are chronicled in detail in the book, “Antiquities Near Miltown Malbay” by Thomas Johnson Westropp.

This image appears in my book, “Magical Irish Countryside” (Mystical Moods of Ireland, Vol. III).