Drishane Castle is a

MacCarthy MacCarthy ( ga, Mac Cárthaigh), also spelled Macarthy, McCarthy or McCarty, is an Irish clan originating from Munster, an area they ruled during the Middle Ages. It was divided into several great branches; the MacCarthy Reagh, MacCarthy of Mu ...

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 ...

and

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

located in

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 ...

. In modern times the name is also used to refer to the adjacent house which dates from the 18th century. It is located northeast of

Millstreet Millstreet () is a town in north County Cork, Ireland, with a population of 1,555 (as of 2016). Millstreet is within the civil parish of Drishane, and within a Poor Law Union also called Millstreet. The Millstreet Union encompasses the civil ...

, on the south bank of the Munster Blackwater.

History

The tower house at Drishane was built by the

(Mac Cárthaigh) clan c. 1436–50. It was probably begun by Dermot Mór, the second son of Tadhg (King of Desmond 1390–1428). Tadhg, son of Owen was in possession of Drishane Castle in 1592 when he

surrendered Surrender, in military terms, is the relinquishment of control over territory, combatants, fortifications, ships or armament to another power. A surrender may be accomplished peacefully or it may be the result of defeat in battle. A sovereign ...

it to

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

and got a regrant. His son Owen (Eoin) still held the castle at his death in 1637. All MacCarthy lands were forfeit after the

Irish Confederate Wars The Irish Confederate Wars, also called the Eleven Years' War (from ga, Cogadh na hAon-déag mBliana), took place in Ireland between 1641 and 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in the kin ...

(1641–53), but were restored to

Donough MacCarty, 1st Earl of Clancarty Sir Donough MacCarty, 1st Earl of Clancarty (1594–1665), was an Irish magnate, soldier, and politician. He succeeded as 2nd Viscount Muskerry in 1641. He rebelled against the government, demanding religious freedom as a Catholic and defendin ...

in 1660 when Charles II regained the throne. The MacCarthys again lost their lands after the

Williamite War The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691; ga, Cogadh an Dá Rí, "war of the two kings"), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called th ...

(1689–91). The land fell to the

Hollow Sword Blade Company The Hollow Sword Blades Company was a British joint-stock company founded in 1691 by a goldsmith, Sir Stephen Evance, for the manufacture of hollow-ground rapiers. In 1700 the company was purchased by a syndicate of businessmen who used the corp ...

, who sold it to Henry Wallis in 1709; the Wallises took full ownership in 1728. The Wallis family built the house, or castle as it came to be called, c. 1730. During the Fenian Rising of 1867, Drishane Castle was garrisoned. It remained in Wallis hands until 1882, later being owned by Patrick Stack. It became a convent in 1909, owned by the Sisters of the Infant Jesus, who operated a boarding secondary school for girls until 1992. In 1974 it was used as a location set as the fictional Brede Abbey in the film version of

In This House of Brede ''In This House of Brede'' is a novel by Rumer Godden published in 1969 by Viking in the US and by Macmillan in the UK. Synopsis The novel is a portrait of religious life in England that centers on Philippa Talbot, a highly successful profession ...

. It was bought by the Duggan family and became a centre for

asylum seekers An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and mi ...

Tower house

The tower house is 22 m tall. It is built of stone with four storeys and narrow arrowslits. There are "Irish" crenellations on the roof, and a small circular tower next to the castle.

References

{{Reflist National Monuments in County Cork Castles in County Cork MacCarthy dynasty