Ireland · 13th century
Macroom Castle ranks #5,087 of 9,040 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #81 of the 178 mapped in Ireland. Founded 1250, it is older than 67% of the atlas's dated landmarks, one of 1091 atlas entries founded in the 13th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,392 times in the last 60 days, more than 60% of the atlas. 5 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Cork, 33 km away. See how Ireland compares in the castle statistics.
Macroom Castle, in the centre of the town of Macroom, was once residence and fortress of the Lords of Muskerry. The castle has changed owners many times, has been besieged, burned, and rebuilt. The MacCarthys of Muskerry owned it with some interruptions from about 1353 when Muskerry was given to Dermot MacCarthy, 1st Lord of Muskerry, until 1691 when Donogh MacCarthy, 4th Earl of Clancarty lost it definitively.
What remains of the castle is a gatehouse on the town square and a ruin near the bridge over the River Sullane. This ruin comprises an old tower, everything else dates from an early 19th-century rebuild by Robert Hedges Eyre.
Text adapted from “Macroom Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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