Bawn in Ardintenant

Tower house and mural tower in ringfort (CO149-030---) c. 0.5km inland on N side of Roaringwater Bay. Rectangular (int. 7.15m E-W; int. 4.55m N-S) 4-storey tower house on NW line of bank of ringfort. Pointed vault over second floor. Ground- and first-floor door opes near W end of S wall, one above the other. Straight mural stairs rise from E ingoing of first-floor door to SE corner of third floor. Mural garderobe chamber in N wall at first-floor level; garderobe chute exit at base of E wall. Window opes poorly preserved: single round-headed lights at ground-floor level but otherwise appear to be square-headed. Third-floor window embrasures have stone seats; spiral stairs in SE corner give access to roof level. Numerous putlog holes on all external elevations. Base batter removed. Mural tower on line of bank to S. Rectangular 3-storey tower (int. 2.8m E-W; int. 1.32m N-S); clad in ivy. Pointed wicker-centred vault over second floor. Blocked opes in N and S walls at first-floor level. Splayed window opes at second-floor level obscured by growth. Spiral stairs above second-floor level in SW corner give access to roof level. O Mahony castle known as 'White Castle' (O Laoghaire 1981, 20-1) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 1: West Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1992). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009

Built by an unidentified Gaelic family or local lord, likely in the 15th or 16th century, the Bawn in Ardintenant is important as an example of a tower house integrated within a pre-existing ringfort, illustrating the continuity of settlement and adaptation of ancient sites for medieval defensive purposes in West Cork.