By the death of Felim, however, the house of O’Conor received a blow which it never thoroughly recovered; for, though his son Hugh, who succeeded him in the government, inherited to the full extent his father’s energy and valour, if not his prudence, he was less successful in his enterprises, and his death in 1274 gave additional strength to the English interest in Connaught. From a record in the Annals of the Four Masters it appears that the Castle of Rinn-duin was in the possession of the English settlers some years before his death, for it is stated at the year 1270 that “The castle of Ath-Angaile, the castle of Sliabh-Lugha, and the castle of Cill Calman, were demolished by O’Conor; Roscommon, RINN-DUIN, and Uillin-Uanach, wore also burned by him.” From this period forward the Castle of Rinn-duin appears to have been permanently garrisoned by the English, and its history can be traced only in the English records. In the great roll of the pipe, 1 Edward I. (1273), among the disbursements of John de Saundford of the escheats and wards of the Lord the King, it is stated that £12 18s was paid to Geoffry de Geneville, chief justice of Ireland, for the re-edification and repairs of the Castle of Rendon; and also that 45 shillings were paid to Master Rico le Charpentier (or the carpenter) for 40 stone and 5 pounds of steel for the construction of a certain mill at the same place. Again, in the account of the expenses of the same Geoffry de Geneville, from Wednesday next after the Assumption of the Virgin, anno 1 Edward I., to Michaelmas, 2 Edward I. (1273 to 1274), the following item occurs:-- “For the Castle of Rendon, to pay for the garrison and other necessaries £439 0 3¼” So in the account of Robert de Ufford, chief justice of Ireland, of all receipts, expenses, &c., delivered by Adam de Wettenhall into the Exchequer, from Christmas to Michaelmas, 4 Edward I. (1276), among the items are allowances for supplies of victuals for the garrison of Ren-duin, the construction of a mill, and other works of a new construction, the repairing of a fosse there, &c. Again, in the accounts for the following year, 1277, the following item occurs:-- “To Richard de Marisco, for works in the fosse and castle of Rendon £7 10 0” And in the pipe roll of the 8th Edward I. there are similar accounts of disbursements for repairs to this fortress. These notices are perhaps of little general interest, but they afford conclusive evidences of the ancient importance of this fastness, and the value set upon its possession as necessary to the support of the English interests in Connaught. The same records preserve the names of three of its constables, viz:-- Walter le Enfant was constable in 1285-87. Richard Fitz-Simon Fitz-Richar was constable, with the annual fee of £40, in 1326. John de Funtayns was constable, with the same fee, in 1334.