“To safety, to the bridge, you will find your refuge there. But instead I found a sword, stuck right into my back, and found instead my refuge in the sound of my last breath.”

— Claire Loader

There is an eeriness about Shrule Castle when you learn of the massacre that took place there in 1642 – a group of English settlers seeking safety in Galway, killed by their escort. The towering De Burgo walls, with their four great bartizans, look on towards the Black River still, watching as the waters speed by and the memory of her lands with it.

Seek out this and the many other ruins I have visited here. Come explore with me…