Castlemagner () is a village,

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 ...

and

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 ...

in the

Duhallow Duhallow () is a barony located in the north-western part of County Cork, Ireland. Legal context Baronies were created after the Norman invasion of Ireland as divisions of Irish counties and used in the administration of justice and the raisi ...

area of north-west

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. Castlemagner is within the

Cork North-West (Dáil constituency) Cork North-West is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects three deputies ( Teachtaí Dála, commonly known as TDs) on the system of proportional ...

History

The area takes its name from the eponymous Castle Magner, a Norman-era

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, to command and defend strategic points ...

which is located approximately east of the village itself on the eastern boundary of Castlemagner townland. Owned by a Richard Magner during the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was an uprising in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, initiated on 23 October 1641 by Catholic gentry and military officers. Their demands included an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and ...

, the tower house was largely destroyed in the late 16th century. The lands surrounding Castle Magner were confiscated during the

Cromwellian conquest of Ireland The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the Commonwealth of England, initially led by Oliver Cromwell. It forms part of the 1641 to 1652 Irish Confederate Wars, and wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three ...

. The castle is largely in ruin, though the stair turret and parts of the surrounding

bawn A bawn is the defensive wall surrounding an Irish tower house. It is the anglicised version of the Irish word ''bábhún'' (sometimes spelt ''badhún''), possibly meaning "cattle-stronghold" or "cattle-enclosure".See alternative traditional s ...

wall remain. Close to the castle is Saint Bridget's Church, a disused but largely extant

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

church. While the church itself was built in the early 19th century, the surrounding cemetery contains gravestones which are dated from the 18th century and earlier. Castlemanger Holy Well

A nearby

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, Spring (hydrosphere), spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christianity, Christian or Paganism, pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualitie ...

, also dedicated to Saint Bridget, is covered by a carved stone surround including an 18th-century inscription and a carving, sometimes claimed to be a

Sheela na gig A sheela na gig is a figurative carving of a naked woman displaying an exaggerated Human vulva, vulva. These carvings, from the Middle Ages, are Grotesque (architecture), architectural grotesques found throughout most of Europe on Architecture ...

. Castlemagner's

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church, which is dedicated to Saint Mary and was built c.1880, is located within the village itself. There is a shrine to

Edel Quinn Edelweiss Mary Quinn, (14 September 1907 – 12 May 1944) known as Edel Quinn () was an Irish-born Roman Catholic lay-missionary and Envoy of the Legion of Mary to East Africa. Life Born in Kanturk, County Cork, Edel Mary Quinn was the eldest ...

, a local lay missionary, within the church grounds.

Amenities

Castlemagner has a community centre building, a pub (the Castle Bar, known locally as Geoff's). The local

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

club,

Castlemagner GAA Castlemagner GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the village of Castlemagner in the north-west of County Cork, Ireland. Founded in 1900, the club plays both hurling and Gaelic football and is affiliated with Duhallow GAA. As of ...

, fields

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

and

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

teams in the Duhallow division. The club won the

Cork Junior B Hurling Championship The Cork Junior B Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Junior B Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork JBHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Cork County Board of the Gaeli ...

in 2012.

References

Towns and villages in County Cork Townlands of County Cork Civil parishes of County Cork {{Cork-geo-stub