What is recorded here

Thirty metres of ruined wall stretch west from the tower on Cape Clear, narrowing until the sea erases the bawn entirely at high tide. O Driscoll builders raised the chamber and bread oven on that vanishing neck, forcing whoever lived there to read the water before leaving. The castle surrendered in 1602, but the tide still takes the courtyard back each day.

Four storey tower-house and bawn on narrow neck of short promontory, NW shore of Cape Clear Island; now inaccessible at high tide. Rectangular tower (8m N-S; 7m E-W) with projection (L 2m; Wth 2.7m) at E end of S wall to accommodate garderobe chute. SE corner tower collapsed; much of ground floor filled with fallen rubble; doorway in centre E wall. Passage from N side doorway to mural stairs rising from NE to SE corner giving access to 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors. Stone roof over 2nd floor comprises three pointed arches separated from each other and from side walls by series of overlapping slabs (some of which have fallen) (see CO146-001002-). Poorly preserved bawn to SW (c. 30m E-W; c. 20m N-S). Entrance to S of tower-house; remains of D-shaped tower at NW corner; also ruins of buildings at SE corner; abutting E wall tower-house. Traces of smaller enclosure to E with ruins of building containing bread oven. Castle of O Driscoll clan; surrendered to Crown forces in 1602 after short siege (Burke 1908, 115) (Westropp 1915, 253-4). 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

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