Desmond Castle (Irish: Caisleán Deasmhumhan) is a tower house located in the town of Kinsale in County Cork, Ireland.


History
The castle was built as the Customs House for Kinsale about the year 1500 by Maurice FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Desmond, following the grant of the customs of the port of Kinsale to the Earls of Desmond by King Henry VII in 1497.[citation needed] Presumably there must have been an earlier structure on the site as the 1st Earl was Captain of Desmond Castle.

It was used as a Customs House until 1641 when it was converted into a naval prison, following the construction of a new Customs House. The prisoners kept in the Castle were in the main French and Spanish, and the building became known locally as the ""French Prison"" as a result.

In January 1747, a fire broke out, killing 54 of the prisoners. In 1791, the castle was donated by James Kearney MP to the town of Kinsale, and it was subsequently used as a town gaol till 1846, and during the Irish Famine as a workhouse. In 1938, it was taken into government hands, and in the 1990s was restored and opened to the public by the Office of Public Works

Desmond Castle

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Blackrock Castle is a castellated fortification located at Blackrock, about 2 km from the centre of Cork city on the banks of the River Lee in Ireland. Originally developed as a coastal defence fortification in the 16th century to protect upper Cork Harbour and port, the site now houses an observatory, visitor centre and restaurant.


History
In the late 16th century, the citizens of Cork appealed to Queen Elizabeth I to construct a fort at Blackrock to ""repel pirates and other invaders"". In 1582 a fortification was built on the site,[6] and later around 1600, a round tower was constructed to safeguard against pirates ""carrying away"" vessels entering the harbour.[7] The earliest elements of this structure remaining today are a circular tower on the water's edge, 10.5m in diameter, with walls 2.2m thick.

Blackrock Castle was in the ownership of the City of Cork following a charter of James I to the city in 1608. The castle is later referred to in the Council Book of Cork in 1613 and 1614. In 1722 the old four-storey tower was destroyed by fire and new one built by the citizens, costing £296.

Throughout this period, the castle was used by Cork Corporation for banquets and ""convivial gatherings"" - some associated with the custom of ""throwing the dart"".[8] This custom, dating to at least the 18th century,[9] was held every three years in August, and involved a dart (an arrow about four feet long) being thrown by the Mayor from a boat, to indicate the Corporation's jurisdiction over the harbour.[10][11]

Following a banquet, the castle was destroyed by fire in 1827. The rebuilding began at the direction of Mayor Thomas Dunscombe in 1828 and was completed in March 1829. The architects added three additional storeys to the original tower and rebuilt the out-buildings. The new building cost the City of Cork £1,000.[4] The architects were George Richard Pain and James Pain, who were responsible for other public buildings around Cork at the time.[12] The neo-gothic complex of buildings around a courtyard is essentially what remains today.

The castle entered private hands and for a time in the 20th century was used as a private residence, offices, rowing club headquarters, and restaurant.[2][4] The building was reacquired by Cork Corporation in 2001, and work commenced on renovating and re-purposing the complex as an observatory and museum.

Observatory
In the early-2000s, Blackrock Castle was redeveloped under a joint venture between Cork City Council, Cork Institute of Technology and a private benefactor.[who?]

Opened in 2007,[13] the ""Cosmos at the Castle"" project was intended to create a ""centre for scientific research, outreach and communication"".[14] The castle's observatory houses an interactive astronomy center which is open to the public, and has exhibits including a ""tour of the universe"" and a radio telescope that beams messages composed by school groups towards nearby stars.

The castle also houses labs staffed by astronomical researchers from Cork Institute of Technology.

Blackrock Castle

Blarney Castle (Irish: Caisleán na Blarnan) is a medieval stronghold in Blarney, near Cork, Ireland, and the River Martin. Though earlier fortifications were built on the same spot, the current keep was built by the MacCarthy of Muskerry dynasty, a cadet branch of the Kings of Desmond, and dates from 1446.[4] The Blarney Stone is among the machicolations of the castle.

Blarney House

The castle originally dates from before 1200, when a timber house was believed to have been built on the site, although no evidence remains of this. Around 1210 this was replaced by a stone fortification.[4] It was destroyed in 1446, but subsequently rebuilt by Cormac Laidir MacCarthy, Lord of Muscry,[5][6] who also built castles at Kilcrea and Carrignamuck.[7]

The castle was besieged during the Irish Confederate Wars and was seized in 1646 by Parliamentarian forces under Lord Broghill. However, after the Restoration the castle was restored to Donough MacCarty, who was made 1st Earl of Clancarty.[8]

During the Williamite War in Ireland in the 1690s, the then 4th Earl of Clancarty (also named Donough MacCarty) was captured and his lands (including Blarney Castle) were confiscated by the Williamites.

The castle was sold and changed hands a number of times — Sir Richard Pyne, the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, owned it briefly — before being purchased in the early 1700s by Sir James St John Jefferyes, then governor of Cork City.[2][9]

Members of the Jefferyes family would later build a mansion near the keep. This house was destroyed by fire, and in 1874 a replacement baronial mansion, known as Blarney House, was built overlooking the nearby lake.[10]


Kissing the Blarney Stone
In the mid 19th century the Jefferyes and Colthurst families were joined by marriage, and the Colthurst family still occupy the demesne.[2] In May 2008, the present estate owner, Sir Charles St John Colthurst, Baronet, succeeded in a court action to eject a man who had lived on his land for 44 years. The man's great-grandfather had been the first to occupy the estate cottage.[11]

Tourism[edit]
The castle is now a partial ruin with some accessible rooms and battlements. At the top of the castle lies the Stone of Eloquence, better known as the Blarney Stone. Tourists visiting Blarney Castle may hang upside-down over a sheer drop to kiss the stone, which is said to give the gift of eloquence. There are many versions of the origin of the stone, including a claim that it was the Lia Fáil — a numinous stone upon which Irish kings were crowned.

Surrounding the castle are extensive gardens. There are paths touring the grounds with signs pointing out the various attractions such as several natural rock formations with fanciful names such as Druid's Circle, Witch's Cave and the Wishing Steps. The grounds include a poison garden with a number of poisonous plants, including wolfsbane, mandrake, ricin and opium, as well as cannabis. Blarney House, also open to the public and within the estate grounds, is a Scottish baronial-style mansion that was built in 1874.

Ardamullivan Castle

Blarney Castle (Irish: Caisleán na Blarnan) is a medieval stronghold in Blarney, near Cork, Ireland, and the River Martin. Though earlier fortifications were built on the same spot, the current keep was built by the MacCarthy of Muskerry dynasty, a cadet branch of the Kings of Desmond, and dates from 1446.[4] The Blarney Stone is among the machicolations of the castle.


History
The castle originally dates from before 1200, when a timber house was believed to have been built on the site, although no evidence remains of this. Around 1210 this was replaced by a stone fortification.[4] It was destroyed in 1446, but subsequently rebuilt by Cormac Laidir MacCarthy, Lord of Muscry,[5][6] who also built castles at Kilcrea and Carrignamuck.[7]

The castle was besieged during the Irish Confederate Wars and was seized in 1646 by Parliamentarian forces under Lord Broghill. However, after the Restoration the castle was restored to Donough MacCarty, who was made 1st Earl of Clancarty.[8]

During the Williamite War in Ireland in the 1690s, the then 4th Earl of Clancarty (also named Donough MacCarty) was captured and his lands (including Blarney Castle) were confiscated by the Williamites.

The castle was sold and changed hands a number of times — Sir Richard Pyne, the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, owned it briefly — before being purchased in the early 1700s by Sir James St John Jefferyes, then governor of Cork City.[2][9]

Members of the Jefferyes family would later build a mansion near the keep. This house was destroyed by fire, and in 1874 a replacement baronial mansion, known as Blarney House, was built overlooking the nearby lake.[10]


In the mid 19th century the Jefferyes and Colthurst families were joined by marriage, and the Colthurst family still occupy the demesne.[2] In May 2008, the present estate owner, Sir Charles St John Colthurst, Baronet, succeeded in a court action to eject a man who had lived on his land for 44 years. The man's great-grandfather had been the first to occupy the estate cottage.[11]

Tourism
The castle is now a partial ruin with some accessible rooms and battlements. At the top of the castle lies the Stone of Eloquence, better known as the Blarney Stone. Tourists visiting Blarney Castle may hang upside-down over a sheer drop to kiss the stone, which is said to give the gift of eloquence. There are many versions of the origin of the stone, including a claim that it was the Lia Fáil — a numinous stone upon which Irish kings were crowned.

Surrounding the castle are extensive gardens. There are paths touring the grounds with signs pointing out the various attractions such as several natural rock formations with fanciful names such as Druid's Circle, Witch's Cave and the Wishing Steps. The grounds include a poison garden with a number of poisonous plants, including wolfsbane, mandrake, ricin and opium, as well as cannabis. Blarney House, also open to the public and within the estate grounds, is a Scottish baronial-style mansion that was built in 1874.