The Ireland Funds - Your Money at Work : Carriganass

Carriganass Castle “The Rock of the Waterfall”

Within an hour of Killarney is Carriganass Castle. Near the village of Kealkill in West Cork, it was built by an O’Sullivan Beare chieftain around 1540. Considered the best surviving structure of the clan, it comprises an imposing tower and walled courtyard built on the north bank of the Ouvane River. Perched elegantly on an outcrop of rock 40 feet over the river, the castle has the backdrop of the Caha Mountains with Cnoc Baoi, Sugar Loaf and Hungry Hill in the distant skyline. The nearby waterfall strewn with naturally sculptured rock adds to the dramatic impact of this monument.

Carriganass Castle Limited was set up to conserve this important site and make it available to the public. The previous owners of the castle, Anne & Joe Sullivan, donated the castle in 1998 to the association which now owns and manages the castle in trust for the people of the three surrounding valleys. It is one of the very few Irish castles to be owned by the community and even repairs and work on the Castle have been done by local craftsmen.

We spent the day with members of the local association which is working to preserve and promote this special place: Dan Sullivan, brother of Joe Sullivan who donated the Castle; Martin O’Flynn, a local basketmaker whose work has been displayed there; Aine Brosnan, an archeologist from University College Cork and Sean Lynch, the treasurer of the Association.

Prior to conservation, the Castle was used by the Sullivan family as a farmyard. Dan Sullivan remembers cows being milked and grain being stored there. His father made baskets in one of the corner bastions now home to a heritage basketry collection. “The biggest initial challenge was to harness local energy and imagination in a rejuvenating community cultural enterprise” says Dan.

But today, the project has been adopted with great energy and enthusiasm by the community. This is evident from attendance at events held at the Castle but, more significantly, by the voluntary input of local labor and services into the project. The contribution and involvement of local musicians, dancers and entertainers have been a significant factor in the success of events at the Castle. There has been a similar response from the arts and crafts community.

The aims of Carriganass Castle Ltd. are to:

Preserve and make safe Carriganass Castle, provide access with proper parking
Develop a picnic area west of castle
Create a riverbank amenity park
Construct a footbridge across river west of existing bridge
Develop walkways/cycle routes with links to Kealkill Stone Circle, Toureen Lake, Stone Row, Knockboy, Gougane Barra, Mullaghmesha, Priest’s Leap etc.
Construct a facility for exhibiting local arts, crafts
Establish a weekly outdoor market for local produce
Develop a small cultural/social centre for year round activities.

How The Ireland Funds helped

Funding totaling over $37,000 from The Ireland Funds has assisted in the repair and conservation of the castle.

Photos
1. The stone walls around Cariganass reflect a local tradition of vertical stone placement, rather than horizontal.
2. In the distance, one can see Poc An Tairbh or “the Bull’s Pocket Quarry”. It is said that the stones for the Castle were handed one by one along a human chain that stretched from the Quarry almost two miles away.
3. Martin O’Flynn, Sean Lynch, Aine Brosnan and Dan Sullivan
4. Carriganass
5. Hand built walls require ongoing maintenance
6. Inscription on a wall shows the long history of the immediate area and the connection to the United States

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History

The history of the castle records the fortunes of the O'Sullivan Beare Chieftains and traces the decline of the old Gaelic aristocracy through the Desmond Rebellion, The Munster Plantation, The Battle of Kinsale and the Flight of the Earls. The main character is Donal Cam O'Sullivan whose portrait as a titled Spanish nobleman hangs in Maynooth College.

Carriganass tower house was built by the O'Sullivan Beare Chieftain, Dermot O'Sullivan around 1540. It was located at the eastern end of the Sullivan Beare territory, the main castle being at Dunboy. Following his death in 1548 there was a struggle for leadership within the clan resulting eventually in a division of the clan territory between Owen O'Sullivan who accepted a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth and Donal Cam. Each of them occupied Carriganass Castle at different periods. At the time, Munster was in bloody turmoil with the Desmond Rebellion being put down by Henry VIII and later by Elizabeth I. King Philip III of Spain sent military help to the Irish clans and this led to the Battle of Kinsale between the English forces under Mountjoy and the combined army of the Spanish forces and the soldiers of the Munster and Ulster chieftain clans. Donal Cam was in command of the Munster soldiers having sworn allegiance to King Philip. His cousin, Owen O'Sullivan was on the English side which won the battle decisively on December 24th 1601.

After the Battle of Kinsale Donal Cam abducted the wife of his cousin Owen O'Sullivan from the castle and she was held captive on Dursey Island. Dursey was attacked by the English and the entire population was butchered. In June 1602 Dunboy Castle was captured by the English forces and Carriganass Castle also surrendered. Donal Cam and his followers were declared outlaws and he decided to retreat to Leitrim to try and link up with his northern allies. With a thousand followers he left Glengarriff on December 31st 1602 passing north of Carriganass Castle and on through Ballingeary. For the entire journey, the fugitive group was attacked by both English forces and Irish clans loyal to Elizabeth. Only thirty five reached the Leitrim destination in mid-January 1603.

After making contact with the Ulster leaders, Donal Cam realised that there was no hope of the Gaelic Chieftains continuing the military struggle. He went into exile in Spain where King Philip III gave him the title of Count of Bearehaven and Knight of Santiago. He was murdered in Madrid in 1618. His younger son, Dermot, became a very influential figure in the Spanish Court.