Why this New York Times journalist is shining an international spotlight on a 16th century Galway castle
A castle which has stood proudly in Galway for over 500 years, serving down through the centuries as a police barracks, a hospital and in latter years as a tourist destination before closing due to safety reasons in 2022, is the focus of a new feature by a renowned New York Times journalist.
Dan Barry, whose reporting inspired the new Liam Neeson-produced movie The Lost Children of Tuam, has brought an international spotlight on one of Galway’s most cherished landmarks, Dunguaire Castle in Kinvara.
His interest in stories from the west of Ireland stem from his maternal roots in the Gort area of Co Galway.
“I have a kind of a fondness for the place,” he said speaking to the Irish Independent, “and an interest in how life unfolds there.”
In 2017, Mr Barry wrote an extensive feature on Catherine Corless and her pursuit of truth surrounding the Tuam Mother and Baby Home. The story was later adapted into a film which premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh in July, with Liam Neeson among the producers.
While Mr Barry was in Galway for the premiere of the movie, the castle’s presence, physically and figuratively, spurred him towards seeing the landmark from a different perspective.
“Whenever we’re in Ireland, we wind up staying in Kinvara,” Mr Barry told the Irish Independent.
“So I’m in Kinvara, having a good time, looking for a story to do to justify my existence,” he joked, referring to the New York Times covering the expenses of his trip to the premiere. “When I see that the castle is closed.
Dan Barry and Catherine Corless in Tuam, 2017. © ANDY NEWMAN
“I’ve been to the castle; my children have been to the castle. We would take a walk up there and go into the souvenir shop, and it would feel like you’re stepping into the 16th century.”
Then he began asking the local people a journalist’s favourite question — why? He quickly found no one had an answer.
Mr Barry’s research did not uncover any new developments regarding the castle’s future. Instead, he found himself reflecting on the generations of life that have unfolded beneath its walls since the early 1500s.
“I just imagine the castle watching the rhythms of a village over centuries,” he said.
His article explores the castle’s various uses, including periods as a police barracks and a hospital, as well as its role in Ireland’s literary revival.
“It was there as the economy built around the water and around the pier, and a church was built. Then gradually, Irish history for the last 500 years is unfolding at the feet of the castle.
“The castle saw the famine unfold, saw commerce grow, saw the hookers coming in and out, going back and forth to Connemara, saw the rebellion in 1916 and 1918, and things were happening.”
The OPW and Heritage department are now looking into acquiring the castle. © Duane Brink
The castle closed to visitors in 2022 for reasons of safety, and efforts to secure its repair and reopening have been ongoing ever since. However, ownership and funding remain the primary roadblocks.
Galway County Council had been linked with a potential takeover of the site from owners Shannon Airport Group, but an estimated €5m repair bill prevented any deal from progressing.
The most recent update has seen the Office of Public Works and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage express interest in acquiring the castle. If successful, responsibility for repairs and reopening the landmark would fall to the State.
While Mr Barry’s article brings Dunguaire Castle’s story to an international audience, closer to home the Save Kinvara Castle campaign, established by a local volunteer group, has garnered support from 53 countries and 392 cities worldwide.
The campaign website features an accessible email template allowing supporters to contact elected representatives and senior officials, joining more than 2,400 people who have already pressed send.
“We are calling on the Government to issue a clear public statement setting out exactly how and when Dunguaire Castle will be restored and reopened to the public. The time for vague statements about “engagement”, “discussions” and “exploration” has passed,” campaign spokesperson Fran O’Reilly told the Irish Independent.
Visitors walking to the locked entrance of the Castle. © Duane Brink
“The castle cannot wait indefinitely while its condition worsens. Those entrusted with protecting our national heritage must now provide a definitive plan, a firm timetable and the funding required to deliver it.
“Dunguaire Castle belongs at the heart of Kinvara’s community and tourism economy, not behind locked gates. It is time for action,” Ms O’Reilly added.
For now, Mr Barry shares a story of a small castle on the side of an Irish road that has known more life than any article reader. “In a more universal historical sense, at the end of the day, it’s just old rocks and mortar put together, but in another sense it’s symbolic of a place and a time.
“It’s a modest story. It’s not very long. It’s just a moment in time.”
When asked whether he is expecting another call from Mr Neeson to take on a film adaptation of this article, Mr Barry laughed.