Castles associated with de Burgh, Burke and Bourke history span several centuries and many branches. They are useful landmarks, but they should not be treated as the property or ancestral home of every modern surname bearer.
For the surname overview, read the Burke and Bourke history guide. Explore the Burke & Bourke Irish Family Crest gift collection.
Ballymote Castle
Ballymote Castle in County Sligo is generally dated to around 1300 and associated with Richard de Burgh, the Red Earl of Ulster. Its later possession changed repeatedly, so it belongs to a wider regional history rather than one simple family narrative.
Rockfleet Castle
Rockfleet, or Carrickahowley, in County Mayo is most closely associated in public history with Grace O’Malley. It also enters Burke history through her marriage to Richard-an-Iarainn Burke. That connection is historically important, but it does not make Rockfleet a universal “Burke clan castle.”
Reading the castle landscape
Medieval de Burgh power and later Burke branches left connections across Connacht. Individual sites must be researched separately: construction date, builder, later owners and surviving fabric can differ from the simplified stories attached to surname tourism.
Planning further research
- Use the National Monuments Service Historic Environment Viewer to identify recorded monuments and site names.
- Check the National Library of Ireland catalogue for estate papers, maps and local histories.
- Connect a castle to a documented family line only after establishing people, dates and places in civil, parish and census records.