Castle - tower house

The National Monuments Service's description

On the NW side of Cork Street, on rising ground overlooking the historic town of Kinsale. This 3-storey tower house was built as a town residence by the Fitzgerald family, whose arms are over the door, hence why it is known as 'Desmond Castle' (Healy 1988, 247; Gillen and Hurley 1978, 29). It is one of around 40 'urban tower houses' that survive in Ireland (Heritage Castles of County Cork 2017, 89). It was apparently owned by a William Baines in 1581 (Coleman 1912, 133), but functioned as a magazine in 1601 (Gillen and Hurley ibid) where weapons and gunpowder were stored during the Spanish occupation of the town ahead of the Battle of Kinsale. It was subsequently used as a prison for foreign captives - and is therefore also sometimes known as the 'French Prison' -, many of whom died in the fire of 1747 (O'Sullivan 1905, 10). It was the borough jail in 1791-1846. It was declared a National Monument in 1938 and restored by the OPW.

A photograph of the tower in the early 20th century (Coleman 1912, opp. p 133) shows the gable over the 2nd floor facing the street, now replaced by battlements; other recent repairs include the removal of rendering and the replacement of missing mullions as well as the blocking of ground floor windows. The central ground floor door has a pointed arch, and a hood moulding with floriated stops; the door may be an insertion (Harbison 1970 (reprint 1992), 80). The two central 1st floor windows have ogee heads (cusped to left) divided by mullion and transome; similar windows, but with rounded arches, are set at corner angles. There is a single central window at the 2nd floor level, a rectangular light divided by mullion and transome. All lights have hood mouldings overhead. There is a string course between ground and 1st floors.

This is a National Monument in State Ownership (no. 360).

The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 2: East and South Cork' (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1994). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated in the light of recent research. See also 'Heritage Castles of County Cork' (Cork: Heritage Unit of Cork County Council, 2017), available online: https://www.corkcoco.ie/sites/default/files/2022-10/heritage_castles_of_county_cork_2017.pdf.

Photographs attached
CO112-034006-_01: View of the exterior, front façade of the castle, from E.
CO112-034006-_02: Central ground floor doorway, from E.
CO112-034006-_03: Interior of the first floor main chamber, from NE.
CO112-034006-_04: Exterior E façade, from NE.

Date of upload/revision: 14 January 2009

Date of last revision: 5 July 2023

References

Gillen, E. and Hurley, F. 1978 Round and about Kinsale and the Gourcies. Kinsale. Privately published.

Coleman, J. 1912a Antiquarian remains and historic places in Kinsale district. Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society 18, 27-39, 77-87, 133-51.

O'Sullivan, E. 1905 Kinsale. Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society 11, 1-10.

Healy, J.N. 1988 The castles of county Cork. Cork. Mercier Press.

Harbison, P. 1970 (Reprint 1992) Guide to the national monuments in the Republic of Ireland. Dublin. Gill and Macmillan.