Castle Donovan

Castle Donovan (Irish: Caisleán Uí Dhonnabháin) or Castledonovan or O'Donovan's Castle refer to the remains of an Irish tower house or túrtheach, in a valley near Drimoleague, of medium size which was the so-called "seat" of the Clann Cathail sept of the O'Donovans for a period during the 16th century. The original name of the castle, and when the O'Donovans were actually living in it, was Sowagh (or Sooagh, Suagh) before the 17th century. The name of Castle Donovan, after the Manor of the Castle of O'Donovan, is associated with a regrant from James II of England in 1615. Approximately 60 feet in height, it sits on a large rock or outcropping, which forms the ground floor, close to the bank of the River Ilen.

It is commonly believed to have been built, or at the very least augmented, by Donal of the Hides, Lord of Clancahill from about 1560 to his death 1584. His son Donal II O'Donovan then repaired or further altered the structure some decades later, but was not living in it by then. It is believed that his father had already relocated the family in the first decade of that century to the more profitable Rahine Manor on the seacoast to protect their maritime interests.

According to tradition the tower was severely damaged by Oliver Cromwell's soldiers in the late 1640s, blown up with powder in retaliation for Donal III O'Donovan joining the Stuart side and for his involvement in the rebellion and massacres of 1641, and has been uninhabited since that time.

In 1834, J. F. W. writing for editor Philip Dixon Hardy published an account of his 1828 journey to the "vale of Castle Donovan", including a drawing in which several of the outbuildings can still be seen, in the Dublin Penny Journal. He says:

... It is hard to conceive of any thing more wild, more desolate, more lonely, than this savage vale. ...

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

Castle Donovan ranks #5,183 of 8,134 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #89 of the 173 mapped in Ireland. Founded 1560, it is older than 38% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 755 atlas entries founded in the 16th century. 3 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Cork, 60 km away. See how Ireland compares in the castle statistics.

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