Bunnowen Bay & Castle

#irelandshistoricalspots #connemara #galway #irishhistory Bunowen Castle, a historic stronghold in Connemara, County Galway, began as an O'Flaherty fortress, famously inhabited by the pirate queen Grace O'Malley. Captured by Cromwell's forces, it passed to the Geoghegans (later O'Neills), who built a grander mansion using the castle's stones before falling into debt. The Blake family acquired it as a summer home, but it was abandoned after the Famine, now standing as atmospheric ruins near Ballyconneely, still appreciated for its strategic site and history.