Ballycarbery Castle is a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

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Cahersiveen Cahersiveen (), sometimes Cahirciveen, is a town on the N70 national secondary road in County Kerry, Ireland. As of the 2016 CSO census, the town had a population of 1,041. Geography Cahersiveen is on the slopes of 376-metre-high Bentee, and ...

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 co ...

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 is high on a grass hill facing the sea and is a short distance from

Cahergall Fort Cahergall is a stone ringfort (cashel) and National Monument located in County Kerry, Ireland. Location Cahergall is located immediately southeast of Leacanabuaile, northwest of Cahirciveen Cahersiveen (), sometimes Cahirciveen, is a tow ...

and

Leacanabuile Fort Leacanabuaile is a stone ringfort (cashel) and National Monument in County Kerry, Ireland. Leacanabuaile is immediately northwest of Cahergal, northwest of Cahirciveen. History The cashel was built around the 9th century AD as a defended farms ...

History

There was some kind of residence situated on the site of the castle as early as 1398; however, the present ruins were constructed in the 16th century. It was noted as a McCarthy Mor castle by some sources at that time but whether it was occupied by the McCarthy Mors or their wardens the O'Connells is unknown. The castle was passed onto

Sir Valentine Browne Sir Valentine Browne (died 1589), of Croft, Lincolnshire, was auditor, treasurer and victualler of Berwick-upon-Tweed. He acquired large estates in Ireland during the Plantation of Munster, in particular the seignory of Molahiffe. He lived at R ...

following the death of its owner Donal McCarthy More. In 1652 it was attacked by cannon fire from Parliament forces during the

War of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, then separate entities united in a personal union under Charles I. They include the 1639 to 1640 Bis ...

. In the 18th century a house was built on the site using the barn wall and it was inhabited by the Lauder family. This house was demolished in the early 20th century.

Structure

The castle was surrounded by a high wall with less than half still remaining. There are

arrow slit An arrowslit (often also referred to as an arrow loop, loophole or loop hole, and sometimes a balistraria) is a narrow vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows or a crossbowman can launch bolts. The interio ...

s dotted along the bottom of the remaining wall. A staircase remains inside one part of the wall, but is not easily accessible. The ground floor of the castle was made up of several chambers but only one chamber is still roofed and walled. It is a large chamber with a quite high roof and in one corner a staircase leading upstairs. There are two different staircases leading to the first floor and there is also a path up the back of the castle since the whole back wall is missing. One of the staircases is up on a height inside the ground floor chamber and is in very good condition. The other is entered from outside the chamber and is slightly damaged. The first floor is covered in grass and has some windows and a few small rooms but is mostly in the open. The first floor is the highest accessible part of the castle as the steps to the second floor must have been attached to the now missing back wall. Until sometime in 2017, it was possible to walk around the castle grounds and climb on the castle ruins. However, the castle is situated on private land, and the owner of the land has recently eliminated public access to the castle. Consequently, visitors can now only admire the beautiful structure from the small parking lot located about 200 meters from the front of the castle. Castles in County Kerry Ruins in the Republic of Ireland