Carrigaphooca Castle

Carrigaphooca Castle

Carrigaphooca Castle (Irish: Caisleán Carraig a' Phúca), meaning Castle on the Rock of the Fairy; the word Púca translates as kind of ghost or fairy) is a ruined five storey rectangular tower house, situated on a steep-sided rock, located 6 km west of Macroom, County Cork, Ireland. Although named as a castle, the Carrigaphooca was built as a defensive tower in 1436, probably by Donal McCarthy of Drishane.[1] In 1602, the castle was attacked and taken by Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare.[2]

During the 1970s, the Office of Public Works undertook restoration of the site, and added a flight of steps leading over the rock base, joining with the main entrance.[3] The ground floor chamber is lit by small off-center windows, and is flanked by a straight mural stairs which rises as a spiral to the 4th floor level.

In an area rich with neolithic monuments, a stone circle lies two fields to the east of the tower.

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Healy (1998), 27–29
  2. ↑ O Murchadah (1993), 223
  3. ↑ Power (1997), 361

Bibliography

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