Rockfleet Castle

Rockfleet Castle, or Carrickahowley Castle (Irish: Carraig an Chabhlaigh), is a tower house near Newport in County Mayo, Ireland. It was built in the mid-sixteenth century, and is most famously associated with Gráinne Ní Mháille (Grace O'Malley), the 'pirate queen' and chieftain of the Clan O’Malley.^[1] The castle has been speculated as her place of death.

Rockfleet Castle has four floors and is over eighteen metres in height looking out towards the drumlins of Clew Bay. Though entry to the castle was once available to the public it is now strictly prohibited for safety reasons. The castle was installed with a metal walkway in 2015, from its adjacent grassland surrounding to its door due to the sheer inconvenience of accessing its entrance during high tides. Further renovations through pointing were carried out on the castle’s exterior in 2017 to improve its weathered brick joints.

Local legend has it that treasure once housed in the castle is now buried in an unknown location somewhere in the surrounding fields. If found, the individual who exhumed it is said to be met by the Headless Horseman resulting in dire consequences.