| This building will always be associated with Maire Rua or “red Mary” O Brien. She married the owner of the Castle in 1639 who was killed in an ambush by Cromwells men. She then offered to marry any English army officer brave enough to ask her. A John Cooper took up the challenge until she was reputed to have murdered him by throwing him out of a window at Leamineh whilst he was drunk. Many similar legends such as these surround Maire, such as her insistance on hanging servants that displeased her, Men by their necks & women by their hair. Many people believed she was a witch. Maire is believed to have met her end by starving to death after being entombed in a hollow tree by her enemies, and the spirit of this remarkable woman and her exploits still haunt the castle and surrounding areas today |
