Castle and Turret — Drishane More (muskerry West By.)

Now standing at the SE end of an 18th-century country house, built directly on a rock outcrop. This rectangular 5-storey tower with an adjacent circular 2-storey tower was built by the Mac Carthys in 1450, according to tradition (Lee 1914,64), a date not inconsistent with the present remains. The circular turret was added later, probably in the late 16th/early 17th century to allow for flanking fire by defenders. The adjacent house was built by the Wallis family in the 18th century but enlarged and castellated in the mid-19th century (Bence-Jones, 1988, 108). The house later became a convent school, and is now in use as accommodation for asylum seekers. The tower house and turret were 'completely restored some time post 1879' (Bence-Jones ibid.), and again repaired and refurbished in more recent times; this included the battlements atop both structures, all wooden door and window frames, the stone flagged floors, wooden floors over the main ground and 1st-floor chambers of the rectangular tower, and slate roofs. The rectangular tower (8.8m E-W; 7.7m N-S) has slightly rounded corners, and is entered at ground-floor level through a door near the N end of the E wall, of which the door surround has been re-set. The short lobby inside has a door on its W side, with a pointed arch, giving access to the main ground-floor chamber, and a similar door on the S side, leading to mural stairs which rise to the SE corner of tower, where they continue upwards as spiral, giving access to the main 1st-, 2nd-and 4th-floor chambers, and to two mural garderobe chambers in the E wall at 1st/2nd and 3rd/4th floor levels. The ground-floor chamber (4.85m E-W; 3.85m N-S) is lit by windows in the centre of the S wall and at the W end of the N wall; both have square-set embrasures covered by segmental vaults. The first-floor chamber (5.2m E-W; 3.9m N-S) is entered via a short L-shaped lintelled passage from the spiral stairs; the chamber is lit by roughly-central windows in the S, W and N walls; these have splayed and lintelled embrasures and single square-headed lights. The main second-floor chamber is entered directly from the spiral stairs, through a door with a pointed arch, in the SE corner of the room; it is lit by roughly-central windows in the S, W and N walls, similar to those on the 1st floor but with single ogee-headed lights. The third floor is attic under a pointed wicker-centered vault (axis E-W); it is lit by a single window in the W wall; the embrasure is similar to those of the floor below but with a single flat-headed light; the original entrance to this floor was probably via the manhole from the floor below. The main fourth-floor chamber is entered, via a short passage from the top of the spiral stairs, through a door on the S side of a deep window embrasure in the centre of the E wall; the embrasure is square-set, covered by a segmental vault, with a double ogee-headed light; there is a similar window embrasure in the centre of the S wall. The spandrels of the latter window light are decorated with simple geometric design; the light is covered by a hood moulding, with stepped terminals, which is flanked by two carved human heads. There are also windows in the centre of the N and W walls, similar to those on the 2nd floor. Opposite the entrance door, in the N side of the E window embrasure, is a door leading to the spiral stairs in the NE corner of the tower, which rise to wall-walk level. At 1st/2nd floor level a lintelled door on the N side of the spiral stairs gives access to a lintelled passage (4.7m N-S; 1.1m E-W) with a garderobe at the N end; it is lit by two slit windows in the E wall. A second mural passage in the E wall at 3rd/4th floor level is entered through a door, with a pointed arch, on the N side of the spiral stairs; a lintelled passage (3.5m N-S; 0.9m E-W) leads to the SE corner of the tower where it turns at right angle to the W (L 1.1m); at the W end of the latter section is a garderobe opening; the passage is lit by a single slit windows in the E and S walls. The circular tower (int. diam. 2.9m; wall thickness c. 0.9m) is just 0.9m S of the SE corner of the rectangular tower, and projects 1.3m beyond its E wall; it is now free standing but it was originally linked to the tower by a straight wall. It is entered on the NW side through a repaired ground-floor door; there is a gun loop on the E side of the door, and gun loops facing the S and W. There is an inserted window on the SW side and an inserted fireplace to the SE. The first floor has a door ope to the NNE, a window ope to the NE, traces of a fireplace to the E and a splayed ope, possibly a gun loop, to the SE, and a modern roof overhead. This is a National Monument in State Ownership (no. 296) The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 3: Mid Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1997). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. See attached photographs CO039-078001-_01: Exterior of tower house and turret from SW CO039-078001-_02: Exterior of tower house from W CO039-078001-_03: Exterior of tower house and turret from E Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009 Date of last revision: 26 April 2023