Castle (in ruins)

On level ground on the NW-facing slope of a ridge, in pasture. Carrigan (1904, vol. 4, 317) incorrectly assigns this castle to the Killtallaghan townland which is c. 40m to the SW. He describes it as being, 'situated within a circular rath, 60 yds. in diameter, with a deep fosse, through part of which, the "county" stream, called Aughatharra, winds its course. The remains of the castle consist of a ruined building 13 ft. [3.96m] wide and, at present, 14 ft. [4.26m] long, with an entrance door facing east and measuring 8 ft. [2.4m] in width and 12 ft. [3.65m] in height; the walls are 6 ft. [1.82m] thick. In Irish these ruins are known as the Shannachlugh (Sean Chloch) or Old Building'. Little survives above ground of the castle, except the remains of a gatehouse. This is located in the SE portion of an oval bawn (KK030-007002-). The bawn (int. diam. 43m NW-SE; 35m SW-NE) is defined by scarp (H 1.4m) and an external fosse (Wth 9m; D 1m). The fosse was dry when visited in 1989, except for the W sector where a stream, as mentioned by Carrigan, runs through the fosse. The gatehouse (L c. 9m; Wth 7.4m; entrance Wth 2.4m) consists of two parallel walls, the NE wall (upstanding ext. L 6.1m; int. L c. 3.1m; wall T 1.85m) with an L-shaped return (int. D 1.1m; ext. SE face L 2.7m; inner face of gate L 1.6m) at the SE end, the NW end is missing, and the SW wall (upstanding L c. 5m; overall L c. 9m; wall T 2.05m), the SE and NW end of which is missing. As the SE end of the SW wall does not survive above ground the original width of the entrance cannot be obtained, if it had a L-shaped return similar to that on the opposite side this would give an entrance width of 1.3m, however, if there is no return (which is unlikely) it could be 2.4m wide. At the SE end of the former SW wall there is a large displaced stone block (0.8m x 0.6m; T 0.12m), roughly punch dressed, which has a rectangular depression (0.2m x 0.12m; D 0.06m), probably a spud-stone for the gate. There are indications of a room (Wth 3.5m) above the entrance, with traces of springing vault at a height of 2m. See attached: KK030-007001-_01 Google Earth satellite image, imagery date 18 September 2019 KK030-007001-_02 Sketch plan by Kieran Campbell, 17 May 1989 Compiled by: Jean Farrelly Date of upload: 24 July 2023

Built by the MacCarthy Reagh dynasty in the 15th or 16th century, Castle Garryrickin is remembered as a regional stronghold in west Cork, reflecting the power and territorial divisions of Gaelic Ireland before the English plantation.