Carrignamuck () is a

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

within the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

of Magourney and catholic

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

Aghabullogue Aghabullogue or Aghabulloge () is a village and parish in the barony of Muskerry East in northwest County Cork, Ireland. It lies around west of Cork City, south of the Boggeragh Mountains and north of the River Lee. The parish of Aghabullogue ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

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 ...

. It is 363.76 acres in size, situate north-east of

Coachford Coachford () is a village in County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the north side of the River Lee (Ireland), River Lee. The village is located in the civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Magourney. Coachford is part ...

village, and north-west of

Dripsey Dripsey () is a village in County Cork on the R618 regional road around west of Cork City. It is situated on a tributary of the River Lee, the Dripsey River. It is in the Catholic parish of Inniscarra. The Dripsey area hosts a water treatment ...

village. One of the earliest references to Carrignamuck is contained within an Elizabethan

fiant A fiant was a writ issued to the Irish Chancery mandating the issue of letters patent under the Great Seal of Ireland. The name ' comes from the opening words of the document, ', Latin for "Let letters patent be made". Fiants were typically issued ...

of 1573, when a pardon was granted to Donald m'Teig M'Cartie of ''Carignymucke''. This is likely to have been Donyll McTeige MacCarthy (tanist of Muskerry and brother of Sir Cormac McTeige MacCarthy of Blarney Castle) who resided at

Carrignamuck Tower House Carrignamuck Tower House, located in Carrignamuck townland, is a 15th century tower house located north of Coachford village and north-west of Dripsey village. It is also sometimes known as 'Dripsey Castle', a name latterly attributed to the 1 ...

. In a sketch map dated ''c''. 1590 and titled ''the description of Muskery'', the area is described as ''Carrigomuck''. The OS name book (''c''. 1840), in addition to mentioning the 'ruins, house and demesne of Dripsey Castle' describes Carraig na Muc as 'bounded on the north and east by the Dripsey River, on the south by Kilgobinet and Dereen townlands and in the Barony of East Muskerry', and mainly being 'under cultivation'. The Down Survey Maps (1656-8) refer to it as ''Carrickmuck'' (Barony of Muskerry Map) and ''Carrignemucke'' (Parish Map). The accompanying terrier states that 'on Carrignamucke stands a Castle and a Mill' naming the proprietor as Cormack McCallaghane Carthy who held 574 acres. Smith in 1774 refers to 'the castle of Carignamuck'. By the early nineteenth century, the townland was commonly named as Carrignamuck, with Lewis in 1837 referring to 'the ancient castle of Carrignamuck' and both the Ordnance Survey name book (''c''. 1840) and the OS 1842 surveyed map use the same name. The majority of sources, such as O'Murchú (1991) contend Carrignamuck derives from ''Carraig na Muc'' meaning 'rock of the pigs'. O'Donoghue (1986) holds Carrig na Muc as deriving its name 'from a pass in the nearby Dripsey River where it was customary to kill pigs which provided supplies of bacon for the castle ... while the Lord of Muskerry lived at Blarney, his Tanist always held Carrignamuck'. Another version is that 'the proper name of Carrignamuck was Carrigcormac ... and that

was so called after Cormac Laidher McCarthy, the builder of Blarney Castle'. Milner (1975) also subscribes to this alternative view. Townlands vary greatly in size, being territorial divisions within parishes in Ireland. Extensively used for land surveys, censuses and polling systems since the seventeenth century, townlands have also been used as the basis for rural postal addresses. In County Cork, surveying and standardisation of townland names and boundaries by the

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during the mid-nineteenth century, resulted in some earlier townland names disappearing, due to amalgamation or division. The townlands resulting from such surveys were employed during the Primary Land Valuation ( Griffith's Valuation), subsequent censuses, and continue in use today.

Townland sites/items of interest

Dripsey Castle, Carrignamuck Dripsey Castle is a country house in the townland of Carrignamuck, situated north-east of Coachford village and north-west of Dripsey village. The house and demesne were dominant features in the rural landscape of Ireland, throughout the eighte ...

Dripsey Castle Bridge Dripsey Castle Bridge is situated north-east of Coachford village, north-west of Dripsey village, and is depicted on both the 1841 and 1901 surveyed OS maps. It is located at the meeting point of Carrignamuck and Meeshal townlands, and lies w ...

Trafalgar Monument, Carrignamuck The Trafalgar Monument is an ornamental tower (or folly) in Carrignamuck townland, north of Coachford village, County Cork, Ireland. It was built by Nicholas Colthurst, who served during the Napoleonic Wars, and was a midshipman aboard during ...

Colthurst's Bridge Colthurst's Bridge is situated north of Coachford village in County Cork, Ireland, east of Aghabullogue village, and is depicted on both the 1841 and 1901 surveyed OS maps. The bridge is located at the meeting point of the townlands of Carr ...

* Larchfield House, Carrignamuck

References

{{reflist, refs= Histpop; Area, population and number of houses, Vol. II, Ireland, 1881, page 207
/ref> HistPop; Area, houses, and population, Munster, Ireland,1911 Page 94
/ref> Townlands of County Cork