Castle Balfour Demesne

Castle Balfour Demesne is a townland of 201 acres in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the civil parish of Aghalurcher and the historic barony of Magherastephana.[1][2] It contains part of the small town of Lisnaskea, with the remainder in the townland of Lisoneill.[3]

Castle Balfour
Castle Balfour, Lisnaskea, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland
Castle Balfour is located in Northern Ireland
Castle Balfour
Castle Balfour
Location within Northern Ireland
Irish grid referenceH3634
District
County
CountryNorthern Ireland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Postcode districtBT
Dialling code028, +44 28
UK Parliament
NI Assembly
List of places
UK
Northern Ireland
Fermanagh
54°15′08″N 7°26′32″W / 54.2523°N 7.4423°W / 54.2523; -7.4423

The townland contains the 17th-century remains of Castle Balfour, just off the main street in Lisnaskea, built around 1618 by James, Lord Balfour of Glenawley.[4] The castle was altered in 1652 and damaged in 1689, but remained inhabited into the 19th century. It was restored and conserved in the 1960s and 1990s.[5]

There was also evidence of a very much earlier ringfort (with radiocarbon dates of 359-428 AD) in the townland [6] suggesting the area was inhabited from a very early date.

The listed Church of Ireland Holy Trinity Church is also situated in the townland.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Castle Balfour Demesne". Ire Atlas Townlands Database. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  2. ^ "Castle Balfour Demesne". Place Names NI. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  3. ^ "Lisnaskea". Place Names NI. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  4. ^ Flanagan, Laurence (1992). A Dictionary of Irish Archaeology. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. pp. 50–51.
  5. ^ "Castle Balfour" (PDF). Northern Ireland Environment Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2014. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  6. ^ Stout, Matthew (1997). The Irish Ringfort. Dublin: Four Courts Press. pp. 18 and 28.