Irish Castles, County Cork
Irelandseye.com continues the tour of Ireland, moving to the south coast, later to the west and north-west, with details of Irish castles. Now to County Cork:
Ballynacarriaga Castle
The hall or living-room of Irish tower houses sometimes doubled up as a chapel, though rarely were the occupants so devotional as to embellish the room with religious carvings. The Hurleys of Ballynacarriga appear to have been an exception, for the top-floor window embrasures of their castle have stone carvings mostly of a religious nature. One of the windows has a representation of the Crucifixion with the Instruments of Passion nearby - the carvings are dated 1585. The opposite window has intricate carvings around a chessboard design with the figure of a woman with five roses, thought to be the Blessed Virgin, though some believe it to represent the first owner and her five children.Despite the date on the window soffit of the top floor, the castle was probably built in the mid 16th century or earlier. There is a good sheela-na-gig above the main door, while the remnants of a round corner tower can be seen outside. During the Confederate War of 1641-52, the Hurleys supported their overlord, Lord Muskerry (MacCarthy More), and in consequence the castle was dismantled by Cromwellian troops and their lands forfeited. It is believed that the ruin continued to serve as a chapel until 1815.
7 km (4.5 miles) SW of Ballineen and 1.6 km (1 mile) S of Manch Bridge. NGR: W 290509.
Blarney Castle
Blarney is celebrated the world over for a stone on the parapet that is said to endow whoever kisses it with the eternal gift of eloquence. The origin of this custom is unknown, though the word "blarney", meaning to placate with soft talk or to deceive without offending, probably derives from the stream of unfulfilled promises of Cormac MacDermot MacCarthy to the Lord President of Munster in the 16th century. Having seemingly agreed to deliver his castle to the Crown, he continuously delayed doing so with soft words, which came to be known as "Blarney talk".The massive castle, which looks even larger because of its picturesque situation on the edge of a cliff, was supposedly built in 1446 by Cormac MacCarthy "the Strong". The MacCarthys held onto the castle with a few interruptions until the Williamite wars, when Donagh MacCarthy supported the losing side and had his estates forfeited. It is said that before leaving he cast the family silver into the lake. The property was acquired by Sir John Jefferys, who built a Gothic-style house onto the castle; this was burnt c. 1820, but a semi-circular staircase tower still remains. Nearby the family made a megalithic garden folly and in 1874 they built a Scottish Baronial-style house overlooking the lake in the park
8 km (5 miles) NW of Cork city. NGR: W 614753.
Trim Castle
Perched on a high rock overlooking the Sullane River this tall tower house commands truly panoramic views of the surrounding landscape. Built by Dermot Mor MacCarthy sometime between 1436 and 1451, it is a very simple building with a single room on each of its five levels. The windows are very plain in form, small and narrow, and like other early tower houses, there are no fireplaces or chimneys. have ground floors, but the main core of the keep at this level is evidently filled with earth.The MacCarthys of Carrigaphooca were constantly engaged in internecine warfare. They sided with the Crown in 1602 and their stronghold was consequently attacked by Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare. After a difficult siege the huge wooden door of the castle burned down. The garrison was set free and O'Sullivan Beare retrieved a chest of Spanish gold he had presented to the MacCarthys some months earlier in return for their support against the English. The castle was subsequently owned by the MacCarthys of Drishane until forfeited in 1690.
5km (3 miles) W of Macroom. NGR: W 293734.
Charles Fort
Charles Fort is the most outstanding example of a 17thcentury star-shaped fortification to survive in Ireland. It lies on the site of a medieval castle and 1601 it was occupied by a Spanish force and subsequently stormed by Mountjoy's troops.The construction of the present fort began in 1677. It had five bastions; the first two faced the harbour and were the main strength of the fort, but the others were overlooked by the high ground, which proved to be the fort's great weakness. In 1690 it was besieged by the Williamite general, the Duke of Marlborough, who succeeded in making a breach in the wall by placing his cannon on the high ground.
From 1694 onwards the fort was largely rebuilt by the Huguenot military engineer Rudolph Corneille, following the original outline; a barracks for over 300 men was added in the 19th century. In 1922 the army handed over the fort to Irish "Irregulars", who burnt it down. In 1973 it was declared a National Monument and was subsequently renovated.
2.5 km (1.5 miles) SE of Kinsale. NGR: W 655494.
Conna Castle
Resembling some sort of medieval skyscraper, this captivating tower house rises about 85 feet from a great limestone bluff overlooking the lovely rich countryside of the Brade Valley. It was built in the 1550s by Sir Thomas Roe FitzGerald, who by right should have succeeded to the title and vast lands of his father, the fourteenth Earl of Desmond.His claim was disallowed, however, in favour of his younger half-brother, Garrett, who was goaded into a rebellion in which he lost everything, including his life, in 1583. Thomas Roe's claim to the earldom passed to his eldest son James, who was known as the "Sugan Earl" because his claim to the title seemed sure to fail - as indeed it did. After joining the revolt in 1599, the "Sugan Earl" was betrayed by a kinsman, captured and taken to the Tower of London, where he died. That year Conna was taken by the Earl of Essex and partly dismantled. It was later granted to Richard Boyle, Earl of Cork, who repaired the property, but in 1645 it was captured by Confederate forces under Lord Castlehaven and the men of the garrison were put to the sword.
The tower's history came to a sad end in 1653 when it was destroyed by a fire in which the three daughters of the steward were burnt to death. Considering its dramatic history, the castle survives in good condition.
6.5 km (4 miles) W of Tallow. NGR: W 931936.
Coppinger's Court
The striking silhouette of this ivy-clad ruin dominates Ballyvirine - a fertile and picturesque valley west of Rosscarbery. The stronghouse was built sometime after 1612 by Sir Walter Coppinger, whose vigorous desire to develop and modernise his estates brought him into conflict with traditional rural ways.He is therefore remembered, probably wrongly, as an awful despot who lorded it over the district, hanging anyone who disagreed with him from a gallows on a gable end of the Court. He planned to build a model village nearby, but these and other schemes foundered with the 1641 Rebellion, when the house was ransacked and partially burnt down.
So impressive was this house that it was said to have had a window for every day of the year, a chimney for every week and a door for every month. Visitors often like to count them all!
3 km (2 miles) W of Rosscarbery. NGR: W 260358.
Kanturk Castle
The construction of the great semi-fortified Jacobean house at Kanturk (c. 1610) was never brought to completion after suspicious neighbours complained that it was too dangerous and powerful a place to be in the hands of a subject.The builder, Dermot MacOwen Macarthy, Lord of Dunhallow, was ordered to stop work, and in a fit of rage he had the stained glass for the windows smashed and dumped in a nearby river. The castle shell was subsequently known as 'MacDonagh's Folly'.
19 km (12 miles) W of Mallow. NGR: W 382018.
Mallow Castle
The old Desmond fortress on the Blackwater River at Mallow was granted to Sir Thomas Norreys who built a "goodly strong and sumptuous house, upon the ruins of the old castle, with a bawn to it about 120 foot square" sometime between 1593 and 1599.The style is essentially English and early Jacobean with its high gables, singlestepped battlements and large mullioned windows, but the place was well-adapted for Irish conditions with numerous loopholes for muskets. Mallow Castle held out against the Confederates but was severely damaged after being captured by Lord Castlehaven in 1645 and appears to have been abandoned sometime afterwards.
Mallow. NGR: W 562983.
from the Appletree Press title Irish Castles
Click here Irish Castles to buy the newly reformatted book from Amazon.co.uk. The previous edition of Irish Castles is also still available from Amazon.co.uk.
