Site of Castlefore, Kilmacsherwell, Co. Leitrim

This was once Caisleán Coillte Foghair, a stronghold of the Ó Duighgeannáin (O'Duignan) family, who served as bards and ollamhs (teachers) to the Gaelic nobility of north Connaught and north Leinster throughout the Middle Ages. The O'Duignans likely ran a bardic school here, training poets and scholars in the traditional arts. The castle witnessed its share of violence; in 1409, the annals record that John and Conla O'Cuirnin were killed by Dermot O'Cuirnin within its walls.

The castle's most famous resident was Cú Coigriche Mac Tuathaill Ó Duighgeannáin, also known as Peregrine, one of the compilers of the Annals of the Four Masters, that monumental chronicle of Irish history. In the 17th century, the castle may have been rebuilt or repurposed by Colonel Coote, earning its new name of Castlefore, though not, as some might assume, because it had four towers. The 1641 rebellion brought destruction to the castle, allegedly after a female servant betrayed its defenders. By the 19th century, only three walls and three corner towers with gun loops remained standing, suggesting it had been converted into or rebuilt as a tower house.

Today, visitors to the site will find little evidence of this once significant castle. The only visible remnants are two parallel banks about 35 metres long and 7 metres apart, running south southeast, which probably mark an old roadway leading to the castle. The structure doesn't appear on the Down Survey maps of 1656 to 1658, possibly having been confused with another unlocated castle at nearby Cornabrone. While the stones have vanished, the site remains a tangible link to Ireland's learned families who preserved Gaelic culture through poetry, teaching, and historical scholarship.