Castlefreke, also known as Rathbarry (), is a townland and village 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 ...

. The townland is located in 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 Rathbarry on the R598 regional road, to the east of

Rosscarbery Rosscarbery () is a village and census town in County Cork, Ireland. The village is on a shallow estuary, which opens onto Rosscarbery Bay. Rosscarbery is in the Cork South-West (Dáil Éireann) constituency, which has three seats. History The ...

Name

The townland takes its common Irish language name (''Ráth an Bharraigh'' or 'Rathbarry' meaning "fort of the Barrys") and its official English language name ('Castlefreke') from a large castle and estate in the area. Built in the 15th century, this castle was originally associated with the Barry family and known as Rathbarry. Acquired by the Freke family in the 17th century, the castle and its estate was renamed to become known as Castle Freke. The village is still commonly known as Rathbarry, while the nearby townland, woods and dune system are commonly known as Castlefreke.

Village

Rathbarry village has won several awards, including "Ireland's tidiest village" in the 1999 national Tidy Towns Competition and the overall "Ireland's best kept town" award in a 2017 all-island competition. To the south and west of Rathbarry village are a beach, Long Strand, and a

Coillte Coillte (; meaning "forests"/"woods") is a state-owned commercial forestry business in Ireland based in Newtownmountkennedy. Coillte manage approximately 7% of the country’s land, and operates three businesses - their core forestry business, a ...

managed woodland, Castlefreke Woods. Behind Long Strand beach is a natural sedimentary lagoon, Kilkeran Lake, and a dunes system, Castlefreke Dunes. The lake and dunes form a protected Special Area of Conservation.

Castle

The large castle and estate which dominates the area was originally the site of a 15th-century tower house that was owned by the Barry family. The Freke family, who arrived in Ireland in the seventeenth century, acquired a number of estates in

West Cork West Cork ( ga, Iarthar Chorcaí) is a tourist region and municipal district in County Cork, Ireland. As a municipal district, West Cork falls within the administrative area of Cork County Council, and includes the towns of Bantry, Castletownber ...

, including the former Barry castle. In 1642, during the

Eleven Years' War 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 ...

, the Freke family were forced to defend the castle from Confederate Irish forces during a sustained siege. Following an intermarriage with members of the Evans family, the combined Evans-Freke dynasty became Barons of Carbery in the early 18th century. The original 15th century tower house was damaged by fire and other events, and

John Evans-Freke, 6th Baron Carbery John Evans-Freke, 6th Baron Carbery (11 November 1765 – 12 May 1845), known as Sir John Evans-Freke, 2nd Baronet between 1777 and 1807, was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer. He was the son of Sir John Freke, 1st Baronet. In 1777 he succeeded ...

built a new castle on the estate in 1780. The older (Barry) fortification was incorporated into the estate's farm buildings. Castlefreke - geograph

Following a fire in the early 20th century, Castle Freke was sold by

John Evans-Freke, 10th Baron Carbery John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, and the estate and its lands passed to the

Irish Land Commission The Irish Land Commission was created by the British crown in 1843 to 'inquire into the occupation of the land in Ireland. The office of the commission was in Dublin Castle, and the records were, on its conclusion, deposited in the records tower t ...

. The building was used as a military barracks during The Emergency (WWII) before being partially dismantled in the 1950s. Remaining as a ruin for several decades, the castle was purchased in 2005 by a descendant of the Evans-Freke family, who (as of 2019) was restoring the building. The ruins of an early 19th century church and graveyard are located on the castle's demesne.

References

{{County Cork Towns and villages in County Cork

Name

Village

Castle

See also

References