Not much remains of a castle that once was larger and with another attached building. Furthermore it was enclosed within a high bawn wall protected by corner towers.
It was built around 1620, during the Plantation of Ulster, by sir James Balfour, 1st Baron Balfour of Glenawley, a Scottish nobleman from Fife. It was erected in the Scottish style, with steep roofs and corbelled stair turrets.
The castle was burnt during the civil war of 1641-1642 along with the town, but it was restored and altered in 1652, when it was re-occupied, only to be destroyed again in 1689 by the Jacobite armies. It was again repaired after the Treaty of Limerick in 1691.
When the Balfours left Fermanagh, the castle was handed on to the Creightons of Crom. It was destroyed in 1803 by an arson fire, allegedly set by a member of the Maguire clan, who had the control of the area before the Plantations.
The main entrance to the castle is through a projecting bay on the northeast (75°) side of the castle.
The building was locked on our visit so the access was impossible.
We came here for the first time on September 10th, 2003.
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