Ballycarbery Castle is a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

from

Cahersiveen Cahersiveen (), sometimes Cahirciveen, is a town in the south-west of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, in County Kerry. As of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had a population of 1,297. Geography Cahersiveen is on the slopes of 376-met ...

County Kerry County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...

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 ...

. The castle is high on a grass hill facing the sea and is a short distance from Cahergall Fort and Leacanabuile Fort.

History

While there may have been a residence on the site of the castle as early as 1398, the present ruins are of a castle that was constructed in the 16th century. It was noted as a McCarthy Mor castle by some sources at that time but whether it was occupied by the McCarthy Mors or their wardens the O'Connells is unknown. The castle was passed onto

Sir Valentine Browne Sir Valentine Browne (died 1589), of Croft, Lincolnshire, was auditor, treasurer and victualler of Berwick-upon-Tweed. He acquired large estates in Ireland during the Plantation of Munster, in particular the seignory of Molahiffe. He lived at ...

following the death of its owner Donal McCarthy More. In 1652 it was attacked by cannon fire from Parliament forces during the

War of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, then separate entities in a personal union under Charles I. They include the 1639 to 1640 Bishops' Wars, ...

. In the 18th century, a house was built on the site using the barn wall and it was inhabited by the Lauder family. This house was demolished in the early 20th century.

Structure

The castle was surrounded by a high wall with less than half still remaining. There are

arrow slit An arrowslit (often also referred to as an arrow loop, loophole or loop hole, and sometimes a balistraria) is a narrow vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows or a crossbowman can launch bolts. The interi ...

s dotted along the bottom of the remaining wall. A staircase remains inside one part of the wall, but is not easily accessible. The ground floor of the castle was made up of several chambers but only one chamber is still roofed and walled. It is a large chamber with a high roof and in one corner a staircase leading upstairs. There are two different staircases leading to the first floor and there is also a path up the back of the castle since the whole back wall is missing. One of the staircases is up on a height inside the ground floor chamber and is in good condition. The other is entered from outside the chamber and is slightly damaged. The first floor is covered in grass and has some windows and a few small rooms but is mostly in the open. The first floor is the highest accessible part of the castle as the steps to the second floor must have been attached to the now missing back wall. Until sometime in 2017, it was possible to walk around the castle grounds and climb on the castle ruins. However, the castle is situated on private land, and the owner of the land has eliminated public access to the castle due to health and safety reasons. Visitors can, however, view the structure from a small parking area located about 100 metres from the front of the castle.

Gallery

File:Ballycarbery Castle - geograph.org.uk - 989706.jpg, Ballycarbery Castle Bawn Steps.jpg, Steps inside the wall BallycarberyBrokenStairs.jpg, Broken stairs FirstFloorWindow.jpg, First floor window BallycarberyBack.jpg, Exposed side of the castle

References

{{reflist Castles in County Kerry Ruins in the Republic of Ireland