Clonbur
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| Clonbur An Fhairche |
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| Location | ||
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| Irish Grid Reference M093559 |
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| Statistics | ||
| Province: | Connacht | |
| County: | County Galway | |
| Elevation: | 20 m | |
| Population (2002) - Town: - Rural: |
- 916 |
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Clonbur (Irish: An Fhairche) is a Gaeltacht village in County Galway, Ireland.
The village of Clonbur is situated between Lough Corrib and Lough Mask. Two kilometres to the west rises the Mount Gable where, according to legend, the hordes of Firbolg assembled on the summit before their confrontation with the Tuatha Dé Danann at the Battle of Moytura.
In more recent times this isthmus became known as the Gap of Danger where the "plainsmen" met the men of Joyce and Flaherty country.
Clonbur also contains the ruins of Petersburgh Estate, seat of the Lynch family, one of whose members John Lynch, was a signatory of the American Decleration of Independence.
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[edit] Places of interest around Clonbur
[edit] Ross Hill Abbey
In the cemetery stands the ruins of Teampall Brendain. The ruin is sited within an ancient oval enclosure known as a Caiseal or Cashel. The western end of the ruin is of early Christian origin and in the trabeated doorway can clearly be seen the inclined jambs so distinctive of that era. This edifice replaced a wooden and less durable structure which was the Navigator's original monastic settlement on the site.
Within 30 meters of the western doorway is a curiosity locally known as The Ogham Stone. The site, in the Ross Hill estate, was once the property of the unpopular Earl of Leitrim. The estate later became the property of the Guinness family.
[edit] Ballykine (Ballykyne) Castle
One of a series of five fortifications from Ballinrobe to Ballindonage, it was originally owned by the O'Kynes. In 1571 it was seized for the Crown by Fitton, the then President of Connacht. For a period the de Burgos held it and later gave it to the MacDonnells (Scottish Mercenaries) as service booty or Bonnacht. Eventually it passed from Sir Richard O'Donnell to Sir Benjamin Guinness and so became part of the Guinness estate.
Architecturally, the castle has some puzzling features. The trabeated doorway with its inclined jambs pre-dates the rest of the structure by some 900 years. Certain sections of the stonework are not bonded together as a unit, a feature which suggests later additions to the original building.
