Dunkerron Castle ()
is a ruined four-storey
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, in order to command and defend strate ...
located in
Templenoe
Templenoe () is a civil parish in County Kerry, Ireland. It is situated four miles from Kenmare, on the N70 road to Sneem, which forms part of the Ring of Kerry.
Templenoe is the location of the Ring of Kerry golf club. There is a Gaelic Athl ...
, near
Kenmare
Kenmare () is a small town in the south of County Kerry, Ireland. The name Kenmare is the Anglicisation, anglicised form of ''Ceann Mara'', meaning "head of the sea", referring to the head of Kenmare Bay.
Location
Kenmare is located at the hea ...
,
County Kerry
County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the cou ...
, in south-west
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. The castle was the
family seat
A family seat or sometimes just called seat is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families ...
of the
O'Sullivan Mór family from the late 16th century.
History
The four-storey tower house was built in the 13th century on a limestone outcrop as a
Norman (
Carew) stronghold.
Several later structures of the castle, including an enclosed court, date to the late 16th century, when Owen O'Sullivan became '
Chief of the Name
The Chief of the Name, or in older English usage Captain of his Nation, is the recognised head of a family or clan (''fine'' in Irish and Scottish Gaelic). The term has sometimes been used as a title in Ireland and Scotland.
In Ireland
In Eli ...
' and acceded to the title of 'O'Sullivan Mór'.
An inscribed plaque, dated 1596, recorded the castle's association with the O'Sullivan Mór and
MacCarthy Reagh dynasties.
The castle was the
family seat
A family seat or sometimes just called seat is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families ...
of the O'Sullivan Mór for some time.
The main O'Sullivan Mór familial seat moved to nearby Cappanacush Castle during the 17th century, and antiquary
Samuel Lewis noted that both castles were "traditionally said to have been defended" by their O'Sullivan Mór owners during the mid-17th century
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland or Cromwellian war in Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell invaded Ireland w ...
. The O'Sullivan castles and lands at Dunkerron and Cappanacush were confiscated following this conflict under the
Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652
The Act for the Setling of Ireland imposed penalties including death and land confiscation against Irish civilians and combatants after the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and subsequent unrest. British historian John Morrill wrote that the Act and as ...
, and assigned to Cromwellian supporter
William Petty
Sir William Petty FRS (26 May 1623 – 16 December 1687) was an English economist, physician, scientist and philosopher. He first became prominent serving Oliver Cromwell and the Commonwealth in Ireland. He developed efficient methods to su ...
.
Later O'Sullivan attempts to have the
lands returned were not successful.
By the 19th century, maps record the castle and court as being "in ruins", and a Victorian manor house, Dunkerron House, was built on the estate around that time.
Title
One of the last members of a branch of the O'Sullivans was Donal O'Sullivan, who died on 16 April 1754, without issue or heirs.
The title he bore, the "Prince of Dunkerron", became extinct on his death.
The British monarchy did issue a
peerage title
A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks.
Peerages include:
Australia
* Australian peers
Belgium
* Belg ...
of
Baron Dunkeron to
John Petty John Petty may refer to:
*John Petty (priest) (1935–2017), Anglican provost and Dean of Coventry
* John Petty (Primitive Methodist minister) (1807–1868), 19th-century author and Primitive Methodist minister and first governor of Elmfield Colleg ...
.
(John Petty was
Sheriff of Kerry from 1732,
and a descendant of the William Petty to whom the lands had been given following the Cromwellian confiscations). The title assigned to Petty was not however related to the original title of the native
Irish nobility.
References
{{Historic Irish houses, state=collapsed
Castles in County Kerry
Ruined castles in Ireland