Heritage
The Plantation of Ulster in the early 17th Century was an attempt by the English monarchy to take control of the troublesome province of Ulster. After attempts by Queen Elizabeth I in the 16th Century, it wasn’t until the Flight of the Earls in 1607 that King James began to confiscate lands and grant it to those who would settle in Ulster and support the royal claim.
Many of these settlers were English and Scottish and finding themselves amongst a hostile native population, they built defensive dwellings. The largest and best preserved of the Plantation Castles in Fermanagh is this one at Monea, and was built by 1618 for Malcolm Hamilton. The castle follows the traditional castle and bawn style with the bawn being a walled enclosure.
The castle has been home to numerous families throughout history and also been the centre-point of many conflicts. In 1688 Monea Castle was occupied by Gustavus Hamilton, Governor of Enniskillen, who had suffered huge financial losses in the Williamite Wars. After he died in 1691 his extremely poor wife and children continued to live at the castle, but had to sell the estate in 1704. Over 40 years after this, the castle was ruined by a fire and subsequently abandoned in 1750.
