Robert Martin built this little Gothic tower around 1840 for one purpose: somewhere to take afternoon tea and watch the boats on the River Corrib. It never had a practical job – a folly is an ornamental building, put up for the look of it – and it made its point as much by where it stood as by what it was. Martin set it on the west bank directly opposite Menlo Castle, home of the Blakes, the family his own had long jostled with. A tea-house aimed straight across the water at your rivals’ castle is a fairly pointed way to take tea.
It’s a roofless stone ruin now, four corner turrets and arched openings standing in the University of Galway grounds at Dangan, about 1.5 km north-west of the city centre. Be realistic about the scale: this is a ten-minute stop, best folded into a walk along the Corrib rather than made a trip of its own.
The Martins and the Blakes
The Martins were one of County Galway’s leading families, seated at the nearby Dangan House estate, of which the folly was an ornament. The same family produced Richard “Humanity Dick” Martin, remembered as a pioneer of animal-welfare law – though he died in 1834, several years before this folly went up, and his exact place on the family tree relative to Robert isn’t settled. So take it as a Martin family piece, not as anything Humanity Dick himself ever used.
The building
Gothic Revival was the fashionable style of the day, and the folly wears its version lightly: a compact rectangular plan, a steep roof line, arched windows and doors, and a turret at each corner. After Martin’s death it was left to the ivy, and it spent decades as an overgrown ruin once the university took in the surrounding land.
Restoration
Two rounds of work saved it. The University and the Galway Civic Trust part-restored the folly in 1992, and the Trust’s FÁS crew returned for a fuller job finished in 2002, supervised by Michael Davis and Martin Barrett – stabilising the stonework, clearing the vegetation and putting up an interpretative plaque by the entrance arch.
What to see and do
- Look across to Menlo Castle – the ivy-wrapped Blake ruin on the far bank is the best thing in the view, and the whole reason the folly stands where it does.
- Walk the Corrib – the folly sits right on the riverside path that forms part of the Corrib River Loop, which runs down towards the Claddagh and the restored Fisheries Tower at Wolfe Tone Bridge.
- Photograph it early or late – low sun rakes across the stone and the four turrets read cleanly against the water.
- Bring the dog, mind the campus – dogs are fine on a lead, but this is a working university, so keep to the paths.
Practical information
It’s an open ruin with no gate, staff or set hours, and no charge to walk up to it. There’s no café, toilet or shop on site, so sort that on campus or in town first.
- Getting there: roughly 1.5 km north-west of the city centre, about a 20-minute walk along the riverside; or take the 404 bus from Eyre Square towards the university and follow the campus paths to the river at Dangan.
- Parking: none at the folly itself. Use the University of Galway’s visitor car parks (which may charge) or park in town and walk the river path.
- Access: the approach is an uneven gravel path with a modest rise to the riverbank – awkward for wheelchairs or buggies, with no ramps.
The plaque by the entrance arch gives you the short version of the Martin story before you step down to the water. Go on a low-water day in spring or early summer and you’ll see more of the stonework at the base.