Barryscourt Castle

Barryscourt Castle (Caisleán Chúirt an Bharraigh in Irish) is a castle located in eastern County Cork in southern Ireland, close to the town of Carrigtwohill.

The site on which Barryscourt castle now stands has been occupied for over a thousand years- there is evidence of a wooden watermill having been built next to a stream at the site sometime in the 7th century, long before any fortification existed there. Barryscourt fell into the hands of the Anglo-Norman de Barry family in the 12th century, and masonry from this period found at the site may be the remains of another watermill or possibly an early fortification built by the Barrys.

While the de Barry's lands in various parts of County Cork were divided amongst various branches of the family, Barryscourt remained in the possession of the most powerful branch, the Barrymores (Barra mór or "Great Barry" in Irish). The Barrymore line later became extinct, Barryscourt thus passing to a distant cousin, James FitzRichard of the Barryroes (Barra rua, "Red Barry"), in 1556. The present Tower house at Barryscourt was probably built late in the reign of the Barrymores, either in the 15th or 16th century, with a tentative date of about 1550 based on the architectural style, and became the family seat of the Barrys.

The Barrys supported the Desmond Rebellions of 1569 and 1579, and in 1581 they destroyed or severely damaged the family castles to prevent English forces from capturing them, including Barryscourt, which was threatened by an army led by Sir Walter Raleigh. After the suppression of the second rebellion, the Barrys were pardoned by Queen Elizabeth I and Barryscourt was repaired, with an outer wall or "bawn" surrounding an inner courtyard being added, including 3 corner towers. The English-born judge Luke Gernon visited the castle in 1620 and left a detailed description of it.

Barryscourt ceased to be the main residence of the Barry family in 1617, but was evidently still an important fortification for many years afterwards, as it was attacked and captured in 1645, during the Irish Confederate War. The marks caused by the impact of cannonballs during this attack can still be seen on the castle walls.

Text adapted from “Barryscourt Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Barryscourt Castle ranks #5,716 of 8,134 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #113 of the 173 mapped in Ireland. 6 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Cork, 15 km away. See how Ireland compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗