Kilcrea castle

History

  Located about 20km West of Cork city, this ruined five-story towerhouse with bawn was built in the 15th-century, in the valley of the River Bride, tributary of the River Lee, by Cormac Laidir MacCarthy, 9th Lord of Muskerry, who also founded the nearby Friary [1], the famous Blarney Castle and Carrignamuck castle [2, 3]. Perhaps, the castle was built over an old fort possibly dating back to the Bronze Age [1, 2].
Documents from the 1840s state that the bawn was enclosed with two square towers, but there is no evidence of a second tower on the bawn [1, 4].
It is said that the friary was completed in 1465 and the castle probably a little earlier [3].
  Cormac died in 1494, some sources say during a battle [2], others say that was killed by his brother Owen in Dripsey Castle [3]. Anyway, all agree that he was buried in the friary [2, 3].
  Later on, the castle was plundered by English soldiers in 1584 [5]. English occupied the castle till they left in 1603 [2]. With the English occupations, the friars had to move from Kilcrea and they slowly returned after 1603, when Queen Elizabeth gave leniency to Catholics during the reign of King James [5]. However, this situation lasted till 1616, when further persecution began from the Protestant occupiers [5].

References

• [1] Wikipedia, Kilcrea Castle
• [2] Castles.nl, Kilcrea Castle
• [3] Ireland Now, Kilcrea Castle and Friary, Co. Cork
• [4] Ancient to Medieval (And Slightly Later) History, Kilcrea Castle, County Cork, Ireland
• [5] EchoLive.ie, Cork's Beautiful Ruins: There is a haunting element to this place

Other useful links

• Travel with drone, Kilcrea Friary & Castle Cork
• Irish Antiquities, Kilcrea Castle
• Library Ireland, The Abbey and Castle of Kilcrea, County Cork

Gallery

Tips

  Another beautiful gem, right in the middle of the Irish countryside. The castle can be visited, but first you will have to cross a field of wheat. There is a path running right in the middle of it and a sign at the entrance telling you that you are allowed to enter: just mind your step, not to slip.
  Oppositely to the castle, there is a friary, which is also worth to visit. Leave your car in the small parking place in front of the friary and go inside the premises. If you are not conditioned by time, we highly recommend a visit in July: on your way to the castle, you will have the feeling that you are floating on a field of gold.
  As mentionend in the history chapter, the castle has 5 storeys and once on top of it, from the beautiful terrace, your eyes will be spoiled with a wonderful 360° view.