Blarney Castle
Medieval keep in Cork, home of the Blarney Stone.
In the town of Blarney, Cork, Ireland, there stands a medieval stronghold known as Blarney Castle.[1] Construction of the current keep, built by the MacCarthy of Muskerry dynasty, was completed in 1446.[1]
Quick Facts
- Location
- Cork, Ireland
- Built
- 1210 (original stone structure), 1446 (current structure)
- Builder
- MacCarthys of Muskerry
- Height
- approximately 90 ft / 27.4 m
- Condition
- Partial ruin
- Events
- Desmond Rebellions
- Irish Rebellion of 1641
- Irish Confederate Wars
- Williamite War in Ireland
Facts from the source article.
Geography and history
Around 1210 a stone fortification replaced the earlier timber structure.[2] The Irish Pedigrees account states that Cormac also built the donjon of Blarney Castle along with castles at Kilcrea and Ballymaccadan.[3] A large house was later built near the 15th-century keep by members of the Jefferyes family.[4] Evidence suggests a timber structure existed on the site prior to 1200, but none of it survives today.[2]
Cormac Láidir MacCarthy, Lord of Muscry, oversaw the rebuilding of the fortification in 1446 after its destruction that same year.[2] Donough MacCarty, who was later created the 1st Earl of Clancarty, had the castle returned to him following the Restoration.[5] After several changes of ownership, Sir James Jeffreys, the governor of Cork City, acquired the castle in the early 18th century.[6] A fire destroyed that house, leading to the construction of a new mansion, Blarney House, in 1874, which overlooks the nearby lake.[4]
What the cited sources add
The Irish Pedigrees account notes that Cormac Mór attended parliament in 1578 as "Baron of Blarney" and conformed to the Protestant church.[3] That same source records that Blarney Castle and its estate were possessed by Sir George Colthurst in 1887, who married a Miss Jeffries.[3] An 1875 architectural description states that Blarney House is situated within about three hundred yards of the old castle.[7] The same description notes that the castle is in the Scottish Baronial style and designed with a view to defence.[7]
That article also states that the man's house was part of the Blarney Castle estate.[8]
References
- Wikipedia, "Blarney Castle" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "History", blarneycastle.ie (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Blarney Castle" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "History", blarneycastle.ie; "Irish Pedigrees: MacCarthy, Lords Muskry (#119)"; Westropp, "The Monastery of St. Brigid, Kilcrea, and the Castle of the MacCarthys", Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, 1908, p. 220 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- "Irish Pedigrees: MacCarthy, Lords Muskry (#119)". facts only, no text reused. libraryireland.com
- Wikipedia, "Blarney Castle" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Blarney House", blarneycastle.ie; "1875 - Blarney House, Co. Cork", archiseek.com, 2009 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Blarney Castle" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Adams, "Castles of Ireland: Some Fortress Histories and Legends", Fredonia, 1906 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Blarney Castle" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Landed Estates Database – Estate Record – Blarney"; "BlarneyCastle.ie – Historic Events" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "1875 - Blarney House, Co. Cork", archiseek.com, 2009. facts only, no text reused. archiseek.com
- "Castle landlord wins case to evict tenant of 44 years", Irish Times, 8 May 2004. facts only, no text reused. irishtimes.com
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Blarney Castle (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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