Overview
Only one corner of Moross Castle is still standing – the south-west angle of a Mac Sweeney tower house, two storeys of rubble on a small rocky islet off the shore of Mulroy Bay, joined to the mainland by a 45-metre stone causeway. It’s a modest ruin on a quiet stretch of the Fanad coast, a stop on the Mulroy Drive route rather than a headline attraction, and the tide decides how easy it is to reach.
History and architecture
Turlogh Mac Suibhne built the castle in 1532. The Mac Sweeneys had come over from Scotland after the Battle of Bannockburn and set themselves up across Fanad through the 14th century; a tower here watched the movement of boats across the bay. In 1610 the land was granted to Henry Vaughan, and a survey of 1622 already calls it an ‘old Irish castle’ – by then Vaughan’s man Arthur Terry had thrown a thatched roof of birch timber over the patched walls and built a court of dry stone, five feet high, around it. A stone tower house re-roofed in birch thatch is an odd afterlife, and a fair measure of how far the place had come down in under a century.
What survives reads clearly enough. The corner is built of rubble set in coarse sea-sand mortar; the dressed stone quoins are gone, but the bond holes where they keyed in are still visible. A low mural passage runs inside the west wall, and on the north side, at first-floor level, is the shaft of a murder-hole – the defensive slot over the entrance. The islet is ringed by cliff on most sides, which did as much for its defence as the walls.
What to see and do
- Cross the causeway – The 45-metre stone path runs straight out to the islet. At low tide it’s fully exposed; around high water it can be wet or under water, so this is entirely a matter of timing.
- The views – From the rock the bay opens toward Umricam, Milltown and Doocarrick, where Turlogh Mac Suibhne once fought Domhnall Mac Suibhne, with the two islets known as the Big Isle and the Wee Isle offshore.
- Wildlife – Gulls and razorbills work the shoreline, with the odd puffin in spring and summer.
- The Mulroy Drive route – The castle sits on the signposted Mulroy Drive walking and cycling network, and the quiet back roads make it a natural stop on a longer coastal ride.
Getting there and practical tips
Access is off the L10921 at Ballina, about halfway between Rossnakill and Tamney. The road is narrow, so the sensible thing is to park at Ballina and walk or cycle the last stretch – it’s just over a mile to the causeway.
- Tides: Check a tide table before you set out and aim for mid to low tide; the causeway floods.
- Admission: Free, and open whenever the tide allows.
- Footing: The path and stonework are uneven and the ruin isn’t wheelchair-accessible; wear proper shoes.
- Exposure: The spot is wide open to Atlantic wind – a windproof layer earns its place even in summer.
- Facilities and safety: Nothing on site; the nearest toilets, shops and cafés are back in Milford. Keep children close and dogs on a lead, as the drops around the islet are steep and the stone is loose.
Nearby
- Ballymastocker Bay – The long strand at Portsalon, out on the Fanad peninsula, with coastal walks above it.
- Fanad Head Lighthouse – On the tip of Fanad, with guided tours in the summer season.
- Doe Castle – Another, better-preserved Mac Sweeney stronghold, across on Sheephaven Bay.
Get the tide right and Moross rewards the small effort: park at Ballina, walk the mile in near low water, and you get a quiet, weather-beaten ruin and the whole sweep of Mulroy Bay to yourself.