Lillian, I've been to both and had tours of them. All the stables, coach houses, dairy, and part of the tower are still standing in Monivea. The rest of the tower has been repaired. Probably the most fascinating in Monivea is the mausoleum where Robert French is buried in the crypt. The grounds are not open to the public, but the people in the gatehouse have all the keys. Their name is Moyles, and it would take a good 2-3 hours to show you around. Castleffrench is very difficult to find. There are no signs posted -- it is a private residence now, but in very good shape. It's a rectangular 3-story stone building and perhaps not as interesting as Monivea. When I went there, the owner was walking at the bottom of the hill and he showed me thru it. At that time, he had it up for sale. He was not a French. The last Frenches who lived there are probably in their 40's and live in another castle about 3 miles away. They have horses and they wanted to move to a castle on flat land. Unfortunately, the day before Lord Roebuck ffrench and his wife moved in, the castle burnt to the ground. The floors and roof are gone, but the stone outside stands. Their family lives in the servant's quarters right next to the castle. They are mentioned in the red Heritage books in the library. This particular castle is on the eastern edge of Galway county near Ballinisloe. Are you going there? Mara on 8/21/04 7:49 AM, Jim Dickinson at [email protected] wrote: > I would appreciate any help anyone could give me about > the Castles the FRENCH owned in Galway County. > Does anyone on this list know if the Castle the FRENCH > owned in Monivea is still standing? Also I understand > the FRENCH owned a Castle French and I would like to > know where it is and if it is still standing. > > Thank you > Lillian >