Croom Castle

About

Croom or Crom Castle, also called the Castle of Crom, is a historic castle in the town of Croom, County Limerick, that is notable for its occupation as one of the principal residences of the Kildare branch of the FitzGerald dynasty. Their ancient war cry and motto "Crom a Boo", or in Irish "Crom Abú" or "Crom forever", comes from the strategic fortress. Before the FitzGeralds it was the site of an earlier fortress of the O'Donovans. It is located on a strategic bend in the River Maigue, hence the name Cromadh, or "bend in the river".

O'Donovan fortress: The territory in which Croom lies was up until the period of the Norman invasion of Ireland the domain of the ancient Uí Cairpre Áebda (Cairbre Eva), of whom the O'Donovans were the leading family. The Ui Chairpre were a member of the larger regional kingdom of the Uí Fidgenti, the remains of which were at this point sandwiched between the Kingdom of Desmond to the south and Kingdom of Thomond to the north, rivals of each other. The Uí Fidgenti were pressured by Domnall Mór Ua Briain in 1178, but some O'Donovans remained in the area, and according to Samuel Lewis in his 1837 Topographical Description of Ireland, one Dermot O'Donovan...