Castlemagner () is a village and

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 ...

in the

Duhallow Duhallow () is a barony located in the north-western part of County Cork, Ireland. Legal context Baronies were created after the Norman invasion of Ireland as divisions of counties and were used in the administration of justice and the raising ...

area of north-west

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 ...

. Castlemagner is within the

Cork North-West (Dáil constituency) Cork North-West is a parliamentary constituency represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas. The constituency elects 3 deputies ( Teachtaí Dála, commonly known as TDs) on the system of proportional repr ...

History

Castles of Munster- Castle Magner, Cork (1) (geograph 3036442)

The area takes its name from the eponymous Castle Magner, a Norman-era

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...

which is located approximately east of the village itself on the eastern boundary of Castlemagner townland. Owned by a Richard Magner during the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 ( ga, Éirí Amach 1641) was an uprising by Irish Catholics in the Kingdom of Ireland, who wanted an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and to partially or fully reverse the plantatio ...

, the tower house was largely destroyed in the late 16th century. The lands surrounding Castle Magner were confiscated during the

Cromwellian conquest of Ireland The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland or Cromwellian war in Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell invaded Ireland wi ...

. The castle is largely in ruin, though the stair turret and parts of the surrounding bawn wall remain. Close to the castle is Saint Bridget's Church, a disused but largely extant

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

church. While the church itself was built in the early 19th century, the surrounding cemetery contains gravestones which are dated from the 18th century and earlier. Castlemanger Holy Well

A nearby

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christian or pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualities, through the numinous presence of its guar ...

, also dedicated to Saint Bridget, is covered by a carved stone surround including an 18th century inscription and a carving, sometimes claimed to be a Sheela na gig. Castlemagner's

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church, which is dedicated to Saint Mary and was built c.1880, is located within the village itself. There is a shrine to

Edel Quinn Edel Mary Quinn, (14 September 1907 – 12 May 1944) known as Edel Quinn was an Irish-born Roman Catholic lay-missionary and Envoy of the Legion of Mary to East Africa. Life Born in Kanturk, County Cork, Edel Mary Quinn was the eldest child of ...

, a local lay missionary, within the church grounds.

Amenities

Castlemagner has a community centre building, a pub (the Castle Bar, known locally as Geoff's). The local

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

club,

Castlemagner GAA Castlemagner GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the village of Castlemagner in the north-west of County Cork, Ireland. Founded in 1900, the club plays both hurling and football and is affiliated with Duhallow GAA. The club curre ...

, fields

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

and

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

teams in the Duhallow division. The club won the

Cork Junior B Hurling Championship The Cork Junior B Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Co-Op Superstores Cork Junior B Hurling Championship and abbreviated to the Cork JBHC) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Cork County Board of the Gael ...

in 2012.

References

Towns and villages in County Cork {{Cork-geo-stub