What is recorded here

Castlemartyr began as Ballymartyr around a tower house and bawn, later becoming Leperstown after a nearby leper house, before the Earl of Orrery refounded it east of the castle in the 17th century. Cromwellian wars plundered and partially destroyed it, yet Charles 2nd incorporated it as a free borough in 1675. The town still carries that layered life: castle, charity, conquest and charter all pressed into one Cork landscape.

The town of Castlemartyr established itself in the environs of a tower house and bawn (vol. 2, 5571). It was known as Ballymartyr in the 16th century and was later referred to as Leperstown, after a leper house (vol. 2, 5786) in the nearby village of Ballyoughteragh. At the time of the Desmond confiscations the castle and domain was granted to Sir Walter Raleigh. It was sold subsequently to Sir Richard Boyle whose son, the Earl of Orrery, established the present town, to the E of the castle, in the 17th century. During the Cromwellian wars the town was frequently plundered and partially destroyed. The town was incorporated by a charter of Charles 2nd in 1675 as a free borough. There is a 16th/17th-century house (vol. 2, 5571) immediately to the W of the tower house. (Zajac et al. 1995, 19-20) The above description is derived from 'The Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 5' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2009). Date of upload: 22 December 2009

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