Fiddaun Castle

Fiddaun is a mid-16th century Irish tower house in the Kiltartan barony, one of four O'Shaugnessy castles. This tower house is most noted for its well preserved inner bawn wall and situated between Lough Doo and Lough Aslaun near the modern village of Tubber. It is located on private land and maintained by the Office of Public Works

Description
Fiddaun Castle is a tower house situated between Lough Doo and Lough Aslaun, near the village of Tubber, about five miles south west of Gort.

The most notable feature of this rectangular tower house is the remarkably well preserved inner bawn wall. The tower is a six storey structure with vaulted ceilings over the first and fifth floors, and an attic on the top floor. There are square box-shaped bartizans on the northern and southern corners at third floor level. The bawn is a rectangle with a three storey gatehouse in the north western wall, and a triangular point on the south west wall. The outer wall is now mostly in ruins, but at one tie enclosed a massive twelve acres.

History
Fiddaun Castle was built around 1574, and is one of three castles in the area owned by the O'Shaughnessy family. (The other O'Shaughnessy castles were Gort Castle, Ardamullivan Castle). 
Fiddaun guarded the western parts of the O'Shaughnessy lands. Most of the O'Shaugnessy land was forfeited in 1697 when Sir William O'Shaughnessy, who had fought as a captain in the Jacobite cause, was forced to flee to France. The O'Shaughnessy family continued to occupy Fiddaun Castle until 1729.

This former O'Shaughnessy fortress, occupied from 1574 to 1729, is a tall 6-story tower with an attic.It has a pair of box machicolations (bartizans) on the north and south corners at the third floor level.Fiddaun is a lofty tower house that is best known for having one of the best-preserved bawns in Ireland. Built during the 16th century for the O'Shaughnessys, it comprises an oblong six-storey tower with vaults over its first and fifth floors. There are square bartizans placed very low down at third-floor level, a peculiarly Irish feature that was brought about by the introduction of firearms, which changed the axis of defence from the vertical to the horizontal.

Located between Lough Doo and Lough Aslaun, the castle was built on a rocky area next to a water-filled channel which partially protected the castle. The original outer bawn, now mostly ruined, enclosed 12 acres, making Fiddaun the largest castle in Ireland.

Most of the O'Shaugnessy estates were forfeited in 1697 when the castle's owner, Sir William O'Shaughnessy, fled to France. Though only fifteen in 1690, he had fought as a captain in the Jacobite cause and later in exile pursued a brilliant military career, becoming a Mareschal de Camp in 1734. Fiddaul Castle was continuously inhabited by O'Shaughnessys until 1727.
Located 8 km SW of Gort, off the Tubber road.