[1] Parke's Castle was built on the site of an earlier 16th century O'Rourke (Uí Ruairc) tower house.

The Gaelic tower house and bawn had been confiscated by the The English Crown, following the execution of its last owner, Brian O'Rourke.

The first mention of O'Rourke's tower house at Baile Nua (Newtowne) appears in the Annals of Lough Cé in 1546.

According to the annals, "great treachery was practiced by the sons of Alexander MacCabe against O'Ruairc in his own town i.e. Baile Nua, his castle in the Barony of Drumahaire".

In the mid-16th century, the English were gaining significant footholds in Ireland and expanding their sphere of influence in the northwest region.

The following year, Brian broke down his castles at Newtowne and Dromahair to prevent them from falling into English hands.

[6] The Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) was then underway and the Spanish Armada landing in Ireland was perceived as a threat to England's security.

Brian Óg's castle at Leitrim village was the destination for O'Sullivan Beare and his retinue, who marched from the Beara Peninsula following the Battle of Kinsale.

O'Sullivan arrived with only thirty followers; nearly 1,000 of his kingdom's men, women and children had perished on the long journey north.

The Plantation of Leitrim began in 1620, with 48 so-called 'undertakers' tasked with overseeing the establishment of new towns for English and Scottish settlers.

These Plantation settlements were created on land which formerly belonged to Gaelic Irish nobility and had since been confiscated by the The English Crown.

Roger Jones, a well-connected businessman, brought his young nephews Robert and William Parke with him to Sligo in 1606.

A pair of smaller sentry towers and a sally port (water gate) were added to the southern wall.

He benefitted hugely from the Cromwellian Conquest of Ireland and was granted thousands of acres in Sligo and Leitrim, following the Act of Settlement.

[1] Sir Fredrick Hamilton, a fellow planter who resided nearby in Manorhamilton, was outraged by Parke's behaviour during this period.

Observing that Parke seemed to be under no threat and was possibly colluding with the Irish, Hamilton burned the village of Newtowne in the spring of 1642.

[9]"A week or so after Easter, Sir Fredrick, with a party of horse and foot, burned some villages and killed a number of rebels two miles from Sligo town.

He was then informed that the rebels' cows had been allowed to graze right up to the bawn walls of the castle, without any interference by Robert Parke and his sixty-strong garrison, even while Manorhamilton was blockaded.

Moreover, the Irish apparently passed freely by Parke's castle, with provisions from Sligo town, on their way to their camp at Cornastauk.

So Hamilton decided there and then to burn Newtown village, which 'so long had relieved and sheltered the rogues', and to put some of the inhabitants to the sword.

After the attack on Sligo, Parke was taken to Manorhamilton Castle and kept prisoner by Frederick Hamilton for almost two years, despite a number of orders to release him.

Following this period of unrest, it appears that Robert Parke was resident again in his castle at Newtowne and resumed his political career.

[1] Following the archaeological excavations, the castle was restored using traditional woodworking techniques by the Office of Public Works.

The sweathouse at the end of the lawn was reconstructed and incorporated into the official visitor site, which is now designated as a National Monument.

[11] A regular 'Local Link' bus service, operated by Transport for Ireland, runs from Sligo to Dromahair (route 563) and stops at the castle.