
What is recorded here
Clonmeen Court stood as a fortified house on a Cork plateau, possibly built by a Cromwellian officer and later inhabited by Cornelius O'Callaghan before falling into ruin. A disused quarry has since bitten into the square footprint, leaving only a slightly raised level patch in the pasture. The nearby walled enclosure may have served as a garden or school boundary, but the court itself has been half-swallowed by extraction and time.
In pasture, on plateau overlooking Blackwater River valley to N. Depicted on 1842 OS 6-inch map as square area (L c. 20m) indicated with dotted line; only remains now visible are level area, slightly higher than surrounding field to N, with disused quarry immediately to S which has been extended from area shown on 1842 OS 6-inch map, encroaching on part of square area. Immediately E of level area is rectangular walled enclosure (c. 70m NW-SE; c. 65m SW-NE); sections of NW wall constructed of well-cut random-coursed limestone blocks; probably relates to Court; possibly part of garden enclosure. This enclosure may have been rebuilt in association with parochial school (now abandoned), located at SE end of NE wall.
Site of 17th-century house (probably fortified), said to have been built by Cromwellian officer, Sir Richard Kyrle (Grove White 1905-25, vol. 2, 219-20). Home in 1750 of Cornelius O'Callaghan (Smith 1750, vol. 1, 294), apparently abandoned by 1838 (Grove White ibid., 220). Clonmeen church and graveyard (14713 and 14567) c. 100m to NE; Clonmeen Castle (14354) further to E.
The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 4: North Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2000). 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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- What survives
- Recorded monument
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