Fermoyle Castle (in Ruins) — Formaoil (tc Trian Iarthach)

Fermoyle Castle: This small castle was reputedly built in the early seventeenth century by the O'Sullivans of Formoyle and Ballycarna, a sub-sept of the O'Sullivan Mores (RIA MS 24 K 43). Owen O'Sullivan was wounded in an engagement with Cromwellian forces at nearby Ballinskelligs in 1641 (Smith 1756, 104). The poorly preserved remains of this tower house consist only of its S side with attached returns of the E and W walls. The S wall stands to an average height of 3.2m, rising to a maximum of 6.4m at the SW angle. It is 14.15m long, c. 1.4m thick and features a slight base batter. Neither of the attached returns exceed 3.5m in length. The structure is built of roughly coursed slabs and rubble laid in a lime and fine gravel mortar. Most of the quoins, which were alternately face-bedded, have been removed but a surviving example at SW is of roughly dressed sandstone. The remains indicate that the internal planning of the castle at ground floor level consisted of a main chamber with a smaller mural chamber at SE. The latter was probably accessed from an entrance lobby in the now fallen E wall. It featured a vaulted roof, the S section alone of which survives, and was lit by a small lintelled loop in the E wall. No windows or other features of the main ground floor chamber survive. The floor of the first floor chamber appears to have been laid on wall-plates supported by rough corbels, one of which survives in the S wall at W. No other features survive at this or any upper level. Much of the stone from the castle is reputed to have been used to build Fermoyle House and other buildings in its immediate vicinity (local information). A number of punch-dressed sandstone blocks are incorporated into old farm buildings located adjacent to NE. The above description is derived from A. O'Sullivan and J. Sheehan (compilers), 'The Iveragh peninsula: an archaeological survey of South Kerry'. Cork University Press (1996), no. 1111. In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. Date of upload: 31 July 2013