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Tully Castle
| Belleek - Eniskillen Road (A46), Derrygonnellyare Co. Fermanagh | ||
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Visitor's rating: 3 vote(s) | ||
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| More attractions in Co. Fermanagh. |
Tully Castle
(authors collection)
Situated in a breathtaking scenery on the shores of Lower Lough Erne and just a few kilometres north off Derrygonnellyare the remains of Tully Castle. Strictly speaking Tully Castle is not a castle, but a defended residence, or stronghouse, which was a common type of dwelling built by well-to-do settlers, or planters, at the time of the Ulster Plantation. Broadly speaking stronghouses where built primarily for living, while defence was of secondary importance. For castles it is just the opposite.
On the face Tully Castle might appear one of the numerous roofless buildings of Ireland. The building however has some nice architectural features and a brief yet violent history.
The construction of Tully Castle started in 1612, two years after plots of lands in County Fermanagh were granted to Sir John Hume. Three years later, in 1615, the estate was completed.
The stronghouse was clearly primarily built to provide pleasant living conditions to its inhabitants. Sir John Hume made sure that his family felt at home in the three storey high main building by using a T-shaped floor plan which is rather unique for Ireland, but common in the Scottish Lowlands. The windows provided magnificent views over Lough Erne and the renaissance style herb garden. Especially in the spring and summer this recently re-established garden with low boxed hedges contrast sharply with the ruined building behind.
Despite his efforts to provide his family with a nice home Sir John Hume had to acknowledge that County Fermanagh was not a pleasant place to life for a Scottish planters family in the beginning of the seventeenth century. To protect the estate it was enclosed by a so-called bawn of stone and lime. As regard to strength a bawn stood midway between a simple keep-the-impulse-thief-out garden wall and a sophisticated stand-up-to-an-army curtain wall. The bawn of Tully Castle was equipped with towers, but according to historic sources these towers were used as living quarters for the staff. The main building itself also contains some defensive structures, such as projecting turrets. The lack of windows on the ground floor also indicates vigilance.
From an architectural point of view it is noticeable that the introduced Scottish features, such as the T-shaped floor plan and turrets, are finished in a typical Irish manner. The, nowadays gone, thatched roof for example was an Irish feature as is the smooth finish of the turrets. It is unknown whether these Irish touches were designed by Hume or by the Irish workmen.
As usual the appearance of an estate such as Tully Castle attracted people looking for jobs and soon a village was established close to the stronghouse. This village, accommodating approximately 24 predominantly Scottish families, is well-documented, but nevertheless the exact location is unknown as it is completely erased during the Ulster Rebellion.
Sir John Hume died in 1639 and it is assumed that his son and successor, Sir George Hume, has made some improvements. Not one of these modifications is more striking then a bricked up window in the south-west corner of the castle. The small hole in the blocking is probably a musket hole and the window might have been closed in anticipation of the horror that stroke Tully Castle on Christmas Eve 1641.
In October 1641 Owen Roe O'Neill initiated the Ulster Rebellion. During the first months of this rebellion the Irish had proofed that they too were able make a shameful exhibition of themselves. The most famous example of their misbehaving is the drowning of probably more than hundred refugees in the River Bann near Portadown.
Alarmed by the reports the Protestant community in Ulster was prepared for the worst, hence the bricked up window in Tully Castle.
Lady Hume however realised that the defence structures of Tully Castle were inadequate and the stronghouse was surrendered to Rory Maguire on the condition of safe conduct for the local Protestant villagers who had sought refuge with her. Maguire accepted the terms, but once he controlled the castle the inhabitants, except Lady Hume, were stripped of their clothes. The women and children were imprisoned in the cellars and the men were bound and thrown into the courtyard where they had to spent the cold December night. The next day, Christmas Day, all men, women and children inside the castle, again except the Hume's, were killed. After the slaughtering of the approximately 80 or 90 civilians the rebels plundered and demolished the castle.
The stronghouse, built to please its residents, had become a place of horror and, although used for less than 30 years, Tully Castle is never rebuilt.
The Portadown drowning and the massacre at Tully Castle left deep imprints in the collective memory. These sentiments surfaced in 1688 in the so-called Comber Letter, which in turn triggered the closing of Derry's gates by the Apprentice Boys.
By describing some architectural features and the history we hopefully have taken away the just-one-of-those-roofless-building idea of Tully Castle.
The site is open every day of the year. Oddly an admission fee is charged during the high season, but otherwise you can walk in and out as you wish.