This page contains links to all our posts on Castles, tower houses and fortified houses, mostly located in West Cork
What IS a Castle, Exactly?
Let’s define our terms and see what a typical West Cork Castle looked like and how it was constructed.
Illustrating the Tower House: A Guest Blog (sort of)
The Castles of Ivaha (or the Mizen Peninsula)
Ivaha was the old name for the Mizen Peninsula. This group of posts lays out what we know about these tower houses, all built by the O’Mahonys in the 15th century.
Dunmanus Castle 1: The Cliff-Edge Fort
Dunlough, or Three Castle Head
The Castles of Ivaha: ‘Fragmentary Remains’
West Cork Castles Outside Ivaha
Castles built by the O’Driscolls, McCarthys, O’Donovans
Kilcoe Castle – A Magnificent Reconstruction
Rincolisky Castle – A Loving Restoration
O’Donovan Country (Sweet Ilen – Part 6) (Castle Donovan)
Fort of Gold 1: The Promontory Fort
Dún na Long Castle, Sherkin Island
Dunworley Promontory Fort – A Bit Of A Stunner
What Came After Castles: Fortified Houses
After the great era of tower-house building came the construction of manor houses, more comfortable, bigger and squarer, but still fortified because, well, it’s Ireland.
Fortified Manor Houses in West Cork – a Tudor Status Symbol
Anglo-Norman Castles
We have very few of these in Cork, and none in West Cork. Or have we not been looking closely enough?
The Anglo-Normans in West Cork: Hiding in Plain Sight, Part 1
The Anglo-Normans in West Cork: Hiding in Plain Sight, Part 2
Here’s a proper one from North Cork
Liscarrol: Cork’s Keepless Castle
Roaringwater Journal 