#88 Termon McGrath Castle
County Donegal, Ireland
1611
This is NOT an official Lego site

Often when we are learning about medieval castles, the author or narrator of the article, book, website or show reminds us how the castle was built many hundreds of years ago, occupied by dozens of rulers or dignitaries or perhaps owned by the same family continuously for countless generations. We are taught about the important events the castle and its owners participated in or the castle was passed back and forth by warring clans or was the pawn of kings, granted to his current favorite. In sharp contrast is this castle, named Termon McGrath -- located in the Republic of Ireland at the convergence of the Termon and Waterfoot Rivers at the outlet of Lough Erne near Ballyshannon and just a stone's throw from the Northern Irish border.
The tower house first came to my attention when a photograph of the castle appeared in Decatur Magazine (see upper left photo), the opening picture in an article by our county state's attorney about his honeymoon on the Emerald Isle. Neither he nor his bride knew the name of the castle they had come upon nor could they remember where they took the picture, though they supposed it was either in County Sligo or County Donegal. The castle proved so obscure that Tom McNeill, Senior Lecturer in Medieval Archaeology at Queen's University, Belfast and one of the top Irish castle authors and experts, had no idea what castle it was. It was finally identified by Andrew Knight, a castle afficionado who lives near Manchester, England. Built in 1611 by Archbishop Myler McGarth on lands granted to his son James the previous year, the "prittie castle at Termon Magragh" was bombarded by Cromwellian troops in 1649-50 and the north wall destroyed. The castle, its life ended in just 38 years, was never again occupied!

 
Photos of the Lego Model
Built January 2003
Front View
 East View
 West View
South View
 Entrance View
 Bishop Mylar McGrath

 

Build Your Own
Please note that the Southeast Elevation shows the false machiolations and tall Irish merlons (and chimney) as I originally designed the castle.
The other elevations show the way I actually decided to do the battlements, with the machiolations in particular closer to the actual. Also note
that the batter is so slight that I finally decided to ignore it. Lego's 75 degree slopes were just too diagonal!
Lego Plan Northwest Elevation Northeast Elevation Southeast Elevation Southwest Elevation


Other Termon McGrath Castle pages on the web:
None that I can find. Please email me if you find any references!

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Castles created by Robert Carney
Page created and maintained by Robert Carney