Manorhamilton Castle

• Go on a guided historical tour of Manorhamilton Castle and hear the intriguing story of a broken castle and how it got to be that way.

• Learn about Sir Frederick Hamilton, an ambitious member of the Scottish nobility who built the castle in the early seventeenth century.

• Gain knowledge of Hamilton’s adventures fighting for the Swedish King in Germany during the Thirty Years Wars.

• Find out about the connection between the castle and the destruction of Sligo Abbey.

• Hear how Sir Fredrick related to other settler land owners and his attitude toward the Irish natives.

• Discover how the castle was constructed and how it was destroyed after Sir Frederick’s death.

• Hear about the Leitrim Plantation, rebellions, sieges, changing allegiances, hangings, civil war and religion.

Tours available

Dramatic History

Manorhamilton Castle was built during the plantation of Leitrim by Sir Fredrick Hamilton in 1634. Hamilton locally known as “Hanging Hamilton” proved to be a tyrant noted for his cruelty to prisoners.  He is known to have publicly hanged many of these from his castle walls and surrounding trees. After sustained rebellion the castle was burned to the ground in 1652 by the native Irish. This happened shortly after Hamilton had taken the opportunity to burn Sligo town. The sacking of Sligo abbey was later the subject of WB Yeats short story “The Curse of the Fires and Shadows” which details Sir Frederick’s brutal expedition.
The massive ruins of this 17th century stronghold dominate the picturesque town of Manorhamilton. The Castle around which the town grew has a dramatic and colourful history – stories of which live on in the town to this day.