The ruin on the Corrib
You can’t go inside Menlo Castle, and at the moment you can’t get into the grounds either. Conservation work has kept the site closed since early 2025, with Galway City Council and the private landowner shoring up the stonework. That leaves the best view where it has arguably always been: from the far bank of the River Corrib, looking across at the ivy-swallowed shell of a house with a square turret still standing at one end. It is one of the most photographed ruins near Galway, and the classic angle is from the greenway on the Dangan side, by the NUI Galway sports grounds.
History
The tower house at the core of the ruin went up around 1569, and a man named Thomas Colman is on record living here in 1574. The Blake family, one of the fourteen merchant tribes that ran Galway for centuries, took the place over around 1600 and stayed for roughly three hundred years, until 1910. In 1592 they were reckoned the richest family in Galway, with land across Galway, Mayo and Clare. They enlarged the old tower into a comfortable country house: a Jacobean mansion in the late 1600s, then a two-bay, four-storey block and an eastern turret in the 1700s.
Each spring the Blakes threw open the grounds for the Maying in Menlo festival, ferrying villagers up the Corrib from Woodquay for a day of music, dancing and picnicking on the riverbank. It ran into the early twentieth century and is still remembered locally.
The 1910 fire
It all ended on the night of 26 July 1910. Sir Valentine and Lady Blake were away in Dublin when fire broke out and tore through the house; it was called the worst fire in the west of Ireland in fifty years. Two maids died, and so did the Blakes’ daughter Eleanor, who had a disability and could not get out. Her body was never found in the ruins. The family never came back. W.B. Yeats, staying with Lady Gregory at nearby Coole Park, is said to have watched the glow and written of it afterwards. The Land Commission broke up the estate in 1923, and Galway City Council took ownership of the castle by compulsory purchase in July 2000.
Seeing it from the water and the greenway
With the grounds closed, the river gives you the best of it:
- The Corrib Greenway – the flat, traffic-free path along the old Galway–Clifden railway line runs on the far bank and gives the clearest straight-on view of the ruin, especially near the Dangan sports grounds. It doubles as the easiest way to reach Menlo from the city on foot or by bike.
- The Corrib Princess – the tour boat leaves from Woodquay in the city and passes right under the castle walls.
- Kayak – operators such as Kayakmór run guided paddles that slip past the ruin at water level.
The river corridor is good for birds, too: swans and ducks year-round, and the odd kingfisher along the bank in the early morning.
Getting there
Menlo village sits a few kilometres north of Galway city on the east bank of the Corrib. Be warned: there is no dedicated car park and the castle is not signposted. Most people park near the old gatehouse arch in the village and walk the last 150 metres or so down a rough, uneven track to a gate; it is fine in walking shoes but no good for wheelchairs or prams. Some visitors park at the Menlo Park Hotel or over the river at the Dangan sports centre instead. Wherever you leave the car, don’t block gates or park on the bends.
Walking out from the city along the road is possible in about 40 minutes, but not really safe: the lanes are narrow and lose their footpath in places. Take the greenway if you’re on foot or a bike, or a taxi if you’re not. No bus drops you at the castle.
The land belongs to a local farmer who allows access, so when the site does reopen, stay on the track, keep dogs on a lead and take your litter home.
Nearby
- Aughnanure Castle – a properly preserved medieval tower house out towards Oughterard, a good contrast to Menlo’s romantic wreck.
- Galway city – the medieval streets, quays and pubs are about ten minutes away by car.
Give yourself a morning: cycle or walk the greenway out from the city, take in the ruin from the Dangan bank, and carry on or turn back at your leisure.