Ballymore Castle in Lawrencetown

Lawrencetown, County Galway

Lawrencetown or Laurencetown , historically called Ballymore, is a village in County Galway, Ireland. It lies on the R355 regional road nine miles south of Ballinasloe .-See also:* List of towns and villages in Ireland...

, County Galway

County Galway

County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 was originally a Madden tower house of the 15th century. A house was added in 1620, and the castle has been much altered since then.

The castle was built in 1585 by John Lawrence on land he had acquired through his marriage to the daughter of O'Madden, Lord of Longford. It was damaged in subsequent wars and repaired by his son, Walter, in 1620. John Lawrence Jnr. was dispossessed by Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

 in 1641, having espoused the royalist cause in the war of that time.

The castle and much of the estate was given to Sir Thomas Newcomen

Thomas Newcomen

Thomas Newcomen was an ironmonger by trade and a Baptist lay preacher by calling. He was born in Dartmouth, Devon, England, near a part of the country noted for its tin mines. Flooding was a major problem, limiting the depth at which the mineral could be mined...

, who leased the castle to the Lawrences for many years. On his death, it passed to his stepson, Nicholas Cusack of Cushinstown

Cushinstown

Oldross is a large civil parish in the barony of BantryCounty Wexford, Ireland. It contains the Ecclesiastical parish of Cushinstown in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ferns. The three churches in the latter parish are situated at Rathgarogue, Cushinstown and Terrerath, cater for a population of...

, County Meath

County Meath

County Meath is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Mide . Meath County Council is the local authority for the county...

, who sold it to John Eyre of Eyrecourt

Eyrecourt

Eyrecourt, historically known as Donanaghta , is a village in County Galway, Ireland. Eyrecourt is on the R356 regional road 12 km west of the Banagher bridge over the River Shannon.-History:...

 about 1720. The Seymour family settled in the castle around 1700. The castle was modernised and a large house added in 1815. Thomas Seymour purchased the castle and lands outright from Giles Eyre

Giles Eyre

Sir Giles Eyre was an Engish politician and judge. The son of Giles Eyre and his wife Anne, Eyre attended Winchester College before gaining admittance to Exeter College, Oxford in 1653, then joining Lincoln's Inn on 19 October 1654...

 around 1824. This family remained in possession of the castle until the early part of this century.

Mrs. Hale, a relative of the Seymours, inherited the estate which was somewhat reduced at this time, a large portion having been acquired by the Irish Land Commission

Irish Land Commission

The Irish Land Commission was created in 1881 as a rent fixing commission by the Land Law Act 1881, also known as the second Irish Land Act...

.