This impressive ruin is the remains of a sixteenth century tower castle with walled courtyard built on the north bank of the Ouvane river near Kealkill village. The central tower is approximately 17m high and the surrounding bawn wall measures 47m by 25m. The tower was built c.1540 by an O’Sullivan Beare chieftain, Dermot. The tower is typical of castles built by the Normans and Gaelic chieftains in that period but the surrounding wall is unusual and may have been built later than the tower as an additional defence when the invention of gunpowder made tower castles an easy target. A notable feature of the outer wall is the presence of splayed gun loops to facilitate the firing of muskets. It was one of four castles of the family which ruled the Beara peninsula for over three hundred years and is the best preserved. It was built from local sandstone with lime mortar and was probably coated in lime plaster. It had five floors with the top floor having an attic structure and surrounding walkway with defence features. The history of the castle is the story of the decline of the old Gaelic aristocracy through the Desmond Rebellion, the Munster Plantation, the Battle of Kinsale, the Flight of the Earls, the 1641 Rebellion and Cromwell. It was built as a military defence to protect O’Sullivan Beare territory against attack by neighbouring clans and a symbol of the power, prestige and wealth of the clan. It was a residence for the extended family and was a centre for local trade and commerce. It functioned as a castle only for about one 100 years and was used as a farmyard until conservation works about 20 years ago. The chieftain most associated with the castle is Dónal Cam O’Sullivan Beare, who commanded the Munster forces at the Battle of Kinsale 1601. His cousin Owen fought with the English as a result of a family feud and leadership struggle which began about 1550. On January 1st 1603 Cam began his famous retreat march to Leitrim, passing north of the castle and reached his destination seventeen days later with only thirty-five survivors. With no hope of military success, Cam went into exile in Spain and was murdered in Madrid in 1618. The castle is the setting of the epic poem “The Revenge of Donal Cam” by J.J. Callinan which tells the story of the killing of the English leader St. Leger by Cam in revenge for the slaying of his wife, Aoife, in Gougane Barra
External Links:
https://carriganasscastle.com/