Parke's Castle was constructed in two stages by both Irish and English owners. The earlier foundations from the 15th century were built by the Irish O'Rourke family, who were later dispossessed of their land. In the 1620s, the Englishman Robert Parke constructed the current manor house on the confiscated O'Rourke estate that he had received from King James I. The castle features both defensive structures like a round tower and bawn (castle wall), as well as domestic buildings such as the manor house, carriage house, kitchen and blacksmith's forge within its walls.

1. Parke’s Castle Fivemile Bourne, County Leitrim, Ireland Parke’s Castle is an example of a Manor House of the 17 th century Plantation period located on Sligo-Dromahair Road beside Lough Gill, County Leitrim, Ireland.

2. Parke’s Castle – County Leitrim, Ireland Historical Background Parke’s Castle was constructed in two stages by two different men from very distinct cultures: Irish and English. The Manor House was erected in the 1620’s by Englishman Robert Parke. King James I granted the confiscated O’Rourke estate to Parke after Brian na Murth O’Rourke’s hanging at Tyburn in 1591 for sheltering the shipwrecked Spanish Naval Officer Francisco de Cuellar following the 1588 wreck of the Spanish Armada off the West Coast of Ireland. Of lineage of the O’Rourke clan, Brian O’Rourke was descended from the rulers of Breifne in the 12 th century. He refused to bow to Queen Elizabeth I of England, was tried for high treason in London and subsequently hanged. O’Rourke’s castle, of which only the foundations remain, was built in the 15 th century by the O’Rourke family.

3. Parke’s Castle County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

4. Parke’s Castle – courtyard: foundation of O’Rourke’s Castle (foreground) with bawn and Dovecote (background) County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

5. Parke’s Castle – foundation of O’Rourke’s castle (15 th century) in courtyard County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

6. Parke’s Castle – foundation of O’Rourke’s castle (15 th century) County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

7. Parke’s Castle – Round Tower County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007) THE ROUND TOWER WAS ONE OF THE CASTLE’S ORIGINAL FORTIFICATIONS; NOTE THE MUSKET LOOPS OUT OF WHICH ARMED SOLDIERS WOULD SHOOT AT APPROACHING ENEMIES USING THEIR MUSKETS; THE TOWER WAS ALSO USED TO QUARTER SOLDIERS ON GARRISON DUTY.

8. Parke’s Castle – Interior/Round Tower County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

9. Parke’s Castle – View of Round Tower along bawn (castle wall) from the Dovecote (c. Carson May 2007)

10. Parke’s Castle – Courtyard with Manor House, Carriage House, and Kitchen in background. County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

11. Parke’s Castle – Interior/Carriage House County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

12. Parke’s Castle – Interior/Manor House: left-handed spiral staircase (down) County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

13. Parke’s Castle – Interior/Manor House: left-handed spiral staircase (up) County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

14. Parke’s Castle – Manor House: built in 1620s by Robert Parke County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

15. Parke’s Castle – Gate House/Entrance County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

16. Parke’s Castle – Gate House/Entrance (L) and Manor House (R) County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

17. Parke’s Castle – courtyard and castle structures County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

18. Parke’s Castle – courtyard and blacksmith house and forge with Lough Gill in background, County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

19. Parke’s Castle – blacksmith’s house and forge with Lough Gill and Isle of Innesfree (from W.B. Yeat’s poem, Lake Isle of Innesfree) in the background, County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

20. Parke’s Castle – thatched roof of blacksmith’s house and forge, County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

21. Parke’s Castle – blacksmith’s forge, County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

22. Parke’s Castle – interior view of thatched roof (blacksmith’s house and forge), County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

23. Parke’s Castle – interior view of thatched roof (blacksmith’s house and forge), County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

24. Parke’s Castle – Dovecote Tower, or Pidgeon House County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

25. Parke’s Castle – communications technology in the 17 th century; nestles in the interior wall of the Dovecote housed homing pidgeons, County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

26. Parke’s Castle – note that important assets, such as the covered well (source of water) and the blacksmith facility, were strategically located within the castle walls, County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

27. Parke’s Castle – sally port entrance in courtyard leading to Lough Gill, County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

28. Parke’s Castle – Scottish-type turret along the pentagonal bawn (castle wall) facing Lough Gill, County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

29. Parke’s Castle - bawn running to turret on Lough Gill from the Carriage House, County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

30. Parke’s Castle – bawn running to Carriage House from turret on Lough Gill, County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

31. Parke’s Castle – musket loop in bawn on Lough Gill, County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

32. Parke’s Castle – rock-cut fosse, or moat, outside bawn (castle wall), County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)

33. Parke’s Castle Gate, County Leitrim, Ireland (c. Carson May 2007)