TULLY CASTLE

County Fermanagh

Tully Castle has a very brief history of occupation, which is nevertheless dramatic and bloody as any Castle occupied for many centuries.

It was built between 1612 and 1615 for Sir John Hume, a Plantation Lord from North Berwick. It is a small T-shaped tower house with an exterior bawn wall from which there is an excellent view over Lower Lough Erne.

On Christmas Eve 1641 Lady Hume surrendered the Castle to the forces of Rory Maguire on the condition that the local Protestant settlers who were taking refuge in the Castle would be allowed free. Maguire, however, had all the settlers save for Lady Hume stripped of all their clothing and flung into the cellars.  The men were thrown into the courtyard overnight, bound hand and foot and naked. The following morning, Christmas Day, the Maguires cold-bloodedly killed all 16 men, 69 women and their children, sparing only the Humes.  They then burnt the Castle to the ground.

It was never re-occupied.

Today the Castle is owned by the Ministry of Works. The garden has been reconstructed as a Rennaisance formal garden.

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2001