Kilbolane Castle

Kilbolane Castle is a historical fortification atop Kilbolane Hill, half a kilometre from the village of Milford, County Cork, Ireland. The castle was built in the 15th or 16th century but employed a 13th-century Norman style with high walls joined by circular guard towers and surrounded by a moat, similar to Liscarroll and Ballincollig.

The castle grounds were church property of the Bishop of Cloyne, from whom it was held, according to the Pipe Roll of Cloyne, in 1291. According to Father Vaughan, the Synans had an interest in the place before moving to the Doneraile area. Kilbolane Castle was built shortly after the arrival of Strongbow and the Anglo-Normans, likely as the stronghold of the De Cogans. It was later acquired by the Earls of Desmond and the Fitzgibbon branch of the Fitzgeralds. In 1587, the castle was granted to Hugo Cuffe who was unable to exert real power in the area and in 1590, it reverted indirectly to the Fitzgibbons when it was granted to Sir William Power, husband of Helena Fitzgibbon.

The castle was destroyed by Cromwell's army in 1642 leaving only two of its towers intact. On removing the remains of the ancient church, the tomb of the Synan family, bearing the date 1446, was transferred to the new edifice.

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

Kilbolane Castle ranks #276 of 6,412 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #48 of the 168 mapped in Ireland. Founded c. 1550, it is older than 42% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 532 atlas entries founded in the 16th century. See how Ireland compares in the castle statistics.

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Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗