What is recorded here

Indicated, Castlemartyr (imokilly By., Ballyoughtera Par.) is a large subrectangular bawn on the west side of Castlemartyr, still holding two corner towers and a blocked door with a carved human head above it. The wall bends sharply near the south range, as if the yard were drawn around a living building rather than a dead one. Farm animals and later roofs filled the space, but the head still watches the entrance like a forgotten keeper.

On W side of Castlemartyr; large subrectangular bawn (c. 65m NW-SE; c. 50m SW-NE), now functioning as farmyard with 18th, 19th and 20th-century farm buildings. At SE corner 5-storey tower house (CO077-005003-) standing to full height. At NE corner 3-storey gabled tower (CO077-005004-). Along S wall of bawn, remains of large 17th-century range (CO077-005002-). Bawn wall intact except at NW corner where it appears to be absent. Both N (L c. 30m) and S runs are straight; at W side it runs out at angle to W (L c. 40m) from N end of W wall of S range. Along here is blocked door with pointed arch, over which is a horizontal stone set inwall with a human head carved in false relief. E run of wall runs from S wall of NE tower, swinging out to SE until it returns W and then S again in two right angles, to meet N wall tower house. Farmyard now entered through rounded archway of 19th-century appearance in N wall; castellations atop this wall are similar in date. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 2: East and South Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1994). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009

Castlemartyr Tower House was built in the late 15th or early 16th century by the McCarthy family, a prominent Gaelic-Irish clan of the region. It is remembered as a significant example of medieval tower house architecture in south-east Ireland and as a symbol of the McCarthys' local power and influence during the late medieval period.

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