Carrignamuck () is a

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

within the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of Magourney and catholic

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

Aghabullogue Aghabullogue or Aghabulloge () is a village and parish in the barony of Muskerry East in County Cork, Ireland. It lies around west of Cork City, south of the Boggeragh Mountains and north of the River Lee. The parish of Aghabullogue include ...

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It is 363.76 acres in size, situate north-east of

Coachford Coachford () is a village in County Cork, Ireland. It is located on the north side of the River Lee. The village is located in the civil parish of Magourney. Coachford is part of the Dáil constituency of Cork North-West. Coachford owes its ...

village, and north-west of Dripsey village. One of the earliest references to Carrignamuck is contained within an Elizabethan

fiant A fiant was a writ issued to the Irish Chancery mandating the issue of letters patent under the Great Seal of Ireland. The name ' comes from the opening words of the document, ', Latin for "Let letters patent be made". Fiants were typically issued ...

of 1573, when a pardon was granted to Donald m'Teig M'Cartie of ''Carignymucke''. This is likely to have been Donyll McTeige MacCarthy (tanist of Muskerry and brother of Sir Cormac McTeige MacCarthy of Blarney Castle) who resided at

Carrignamuck Tower House Carrignamuck Tower House, located in Carrignamuck townland, is a 15th century tower house located north of Coachford village and north-west of Dripsey village. It is also sometimes known as 'Dripsey Castle', a name latterly attributed to th ...

. In a sketch map dated ''c''. 1590 and titled ''the description of Muskery'', the area is described as ''Carrigomuck''. The OS name book (''c''. 1840), in addition to mentioning the 'ruins, house and demesne of Dripsey Castle' describes Carraig na Muc as 'bounded on the north and east by the

Dripsey River Dripsey River () is a tributary of the River Lee in County Cork, Ireland. It rises near the Boggeragh Mountains and flows through several villages, including the eponymous Dripsey (), before joining the River Lee near the Inniscarra Reservoi ...

, on the south by Kilgobinet and Dereen townlands and in the Barony of East Muskerry', and mainly being 'under cultivation'. The Down Survey Maps (1656-8) refer to it as ''Carrickmuck'' (Barony of Muskerry Map) and ''Carrignemucke'' (Parish Map). The accompanying terrier states that 'on Carrignamucke stands a Castle and a Mill' naming the proprietor as Cormack McCallaghane Carthy who held 574 acres. Smith in 1774 refers to 'the castle of Carignamuck'. By the early nineteenth century, the townland was commonly named as Carrignamuck, with Lewis in 1837 referring to 'the ancient castle of Carrignamuck' and both the Ordnance Survey name book (''c''. 1840) and the OS 1842 surveyed map use the same name. The majority of sources, such as O'Murchú (1991) contend Carrignamuck derives from ''Carraig na Muc'' meaning 'rock of the pigs'. O'Donoghue (1986) holds Carrig na Muc as deriving its name 'from a pass in the nearby Dripsey River where it was customary to kill pigs which provided supplies of bacon for the castle ... while the Lord of Muskerry lived at Blarney, his Tanist always held Carrignamuck'. Another version is that 'the proper name of Carrignamuck was Carrigcormac ... and that

was so called after Cormac Laidher McCarthy, the builder of Blarney Castle'. Milner (1975) also subscribes to this alternative view.

References

{{reflist, refs= Histpop; Area, population and number of houses, Vol. II, Ireland, 1881, page 207
/ref> HistPop; Area, houses, and population, Munster, Ireland, 1911 Page 94
/ref> Townlands of County Cork

See also

References