McDermott Castle - Ireland. A TRAGIC LOVE STORY ON CASTLE ISLAND!
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McDermott's Castle is a castle and National Monument located in County Roscommon, Ireland.
A TRAGIC LOVE STORY ON CASTLE ISLAND!
Lough Key is in County Roscommon and McDermott's Castle takes up most of one of its thirty islands called, unsurprisingly, Castle Island. The McDermott clan (in Irish Mac Diarmada) were the ruling dynasty in this area from the 10th to the 16th century and a castle has stood on the island since the 12th century. The McDermotts lost the island in 1586 and the current castle is a folly built in the late 1700s by the King family who owned the land at the time. It was built as a summer house and burned down during the Second World War.
Legend tells the story of Una, the daughter of a McDermott chieftain who fell in love with a boy of the lower classes. Una's father disapproved and, to make sure the two didn't meet, he prevented his daughter from leaving the island. The young couple were not deterred and the boy would swim over to the island to meet Una in secret. One day, the waters of the lake got the better of him and he drowned. Shortly afterwards, poor Una died of grief and it's said that both she and her beloved are buried on the island, beneath two intertwined trees which grew over them.
If you go in the summer, you can rent a rowing boat and row out to the island.
A TRAGIC LOVE STORY ON CASTLE ISLAND!
Lough Key is in County Roscommon and McDermott's Castle takes up most of one of its thirty islands called, unsurprisingly, Castle Island. The McDermott clan (in Irish Mac Diarmada) were the ruling dynasty in this area from the 10th to the 16th century and a castle has stood on the island since the 12th century. The McDermotts lost the island in 1586 and the current castle is a folly built in the late 1700s by the King family who owned the land at the time. It was built as a summer house and burned down during the Second World War.
Legend tells the story of Una, the daughter of a McDermott chieftain who fell in love with a boy of the lower classes. Una's father disapproved and, to make sure the two didn't meet, he prevented his daughter from leaving the island. The young couple were not deterred and the boy would swim over to the island to meet Una in secret. One day, the waters of the lake got the better of him and he drowned. Shortly afterwards, poor Una died of grief and it's said that both she and her beloved are buried on the island, beneath two intertwined trees which grew over them.
If you go in the summer, you can rent a rowing boat and row out to the island.
