Built by the MacDonagh MacCarthys sometime before 1609, though possibly as late as the 1630s given architectural similarities to dated structures elsewhere in Cork, this grand residence was meant to showcase the family’s wealth and power. The four-storey rectangular block, flanked by five-storey square towers at each corner, would have been an impressive sight had it ever been finished. Local legend tells that when word of the castle’s construction reached the Privy Council in England, the Crown grew suspicious of why the MacCarthys needed such a substantial fortification and ordered all work to cease immediately. The castle was never roofed, its machicolations remain unfinished, and it has stood frozen in time ever since.

The architectural details reveal a fascinating blend of defensive features and Renaissance sophistication. The main entrance, elevated to the first floor on the western wall, boasts an elaborate limestone surround with a round arch, pilasters, frieze and cornice; a clear nod to European architectural trends of the period. Inside, the building was designed for comfort as much as defence, with numerous fireplaces throughout both the main block and corner towers, and large mullioned windows flooding the upper floors with light. The ground floor gun loops, strategically placed beneath windows in the corner towers, remind visitors that this was still very much a fortified residence, built during uncertain times when such precautions were necessary.

After Dermot MacCarthy mortgaged the property to Sir Philip Perceval during the 1641 rebellion, it eventually passed to Perceval’s grandson by 1667. The castle has remained essentially unchanged since construction ceased over 400 years ago, offering a remarkable glimpse into early 17th-century Irish castle design frozen at the moment of its abandonment. Now a National Monument under state guardianship, visitors can explore the hollow shell and imagine what might have been had politics not intervened in the MacCarthys’ grand architectural ambitions. The northeastern tower still shows evidence of its intended wooden staircase, with shadows on the plaster marking where landings would have been, whilst the large ground floor fireplace with its domed bread oven indicates where the kitchen would have bustled with activity in a completed castle.