Indicated — Dromaneen

On rising pastureland to the S of Dromaneen fortified house (CO032-097002-). The house and bawn complex was built by the O'Callaghans (Grove White 1905-25, vol. 3, 61), and is said to have been constructed in the early 17th century on the site of an earlier castle (Smith 1750, vol. 1, 300). The bawn was described in 1897 as being 'of about six acres, which was all paved over up to recent times' (Grove White ibid., 64). It is the only example of the bawn of a fortified house to have survived intact in Co. Cork, and is one of the largest in Ireland (Heritage Castles of County Cork 2017, 43). The bawn's large trapezoidal area (c. 1.85 ha; c. 180m SW-NE; c. 200m SE-NW) is enclosed by limestone walls (H up to c. 4m); this runs c. 30m due E from the gateway passage on the E side of structure 3, to the NE corner tower; it then turns S for c. 175m to the site of the former SE corner tower, with semi-circular projection at mid-point; it then runs W for c. 120m to the SW corner tower, this line of wall is obscured by ruined farm buildings built against its outside face; the wall then runs NW for c. 310m with a semi-circular projection at mid-point; at this point the walls end at cliff face c. 115m SW of structure 2. The S end of the E bawn wall (L c. 20m) fell during a storm in the winter of 1997/98. The SE corner tower contained a 'columbarium' (Jones 1907, 84-85); the tower stood until 1906 when it was demolished for 'the wrought stones'; Jones (ibid.) describes it as a circular tower (diam. 17ft, H 271/2ft, wall T 2ft 4in) with a door into the bawn, 13 tiers of nests (7in square; 8in deep), haphazardly placed, and with embrasures in the S and E walls; the corner tower at Carriganass Castle (CO106-001----) in West Cork has similar nesting boxes. The two surviving towers stand to one storey and are rubble-filled (int. diam. variable, 4.6m-5.4m), with gunloops along the outer circumference. Semi-circular projections mid-way along the E and W wall are similarly rubble filled and pierced with gun loops. 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. See also Heritage Castles of County Cork (Heritage Unit of Cork County Council, 2017): https://www.corkcoco.ie/sites/default/files/2022-10/heritage_castles_of_county_cork_2017.pdf See attached photograph CO032-097001-_01: Aerial view of bawn from SW. Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009 and 19 May 2023 This monument is subject to a preservation order made under the National Monuments Acts 1930 to 2014 (PO no. 27A/1934). References: 1. Grove White J. 1905-25 Historical and Topographical Notes, Etc., on Buttevant, Castletownroche, Doneraile, Mallow, and Places in Their Vicinity. Collected by Colonel J.G. White. [With Illustrations.]. 4 volumes. Cork. Guy&Co. 2. Smith, C. 1750 (New Edition 1815) The ancient and present state of the County and City of Cork, 2 vols. Cork. Guy and Co. Ltd. 3. Jones, A.H. 1907 The Dromineen columbarium. Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society 13, 84-5.