Castletownshend (, literally "town of the castle") is a village about south-east of
Skibbereen
Skibbereen (; ) is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is located in West Cork on the N71 national secondary road. The name "Skibbereen" (sometimes shortened to "Skibb") means "little boat harbour". The River Ilen runs through the town; it reac ...
, 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 a ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
. The village developed around a small 17th-century
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 ...
built by
Richard Townsend, whose descendants still reside there.
Architecture
The main street of the town, lined with large homes from the 18th century, runs down a sharply sloped hill leading to
Castlehaven
Castlehaven () is a civil parish in County Cork, Ireland. It is located approximately 75 km south west of Cork City on the coast. The civil parish includes the town of Castletownshend and also contains the hamlets of Rineen and Tragumna. T ...
Harbour and the castle.
The Church of St Barrahane, built in 1826, overlooks the town. Its main architect was
James Pain
James Pain (1779 – 13 December 1877) was an English architect. Born into a family of English architects, his grandfather was William Pain, his father James Pain and his brother George Richard Pain. James Pain served as an apprentice to the ...
. This replaced the original church built in 1761. It is noted for its
stained glass window
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
s; the east window by
Harry Clarke
Henry Patrick Clarke (17 March 1889 – 6 January 1931) was an Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator. Born in Dublin, he was a leading figure in the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement.
His work was influenced by both the Art Nouveau an ...
, was given to the church in 1915 in memory of Mr and Mrs Somerville by their grandchildren. The window in the south wall of the chancel and the third window on the south side are also by Clarke. The eastern window on the north side, the easternmost window on the south side and the second window on the south side are all by
Powell's of London.
In the church porch there is an oar from a rescue boat from the
''Lusitania'' (sunk by a
German U-Boat in 1915) in memory of the many drowned passengers and crew who were brought into the harbour.
People
Castletownsend was the home of
Edith Anna Œnone Somerville
Edith Anna Œnone Somerville (2 May 1858 – 8 October 1949) was an Irish novelist who habitually signed herself as "E. Œ. Somerville". She wrote in collaboration with her cousin "Martin Ross" ( Violet Martin) under the pseudonym " Somerville ...
the co-author of the Irish RM series of humorous novels on Irish Life in the early 1900s.
Sir
Patrick Buckley (1841–1896) was born near the village in the townland of Gortbrack.
See also
*
List of towns and villages in the Republic of Ireland
This is a link page for cities, towns and villages in the Republic of Ireland, including townships or urban centres in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and other major urban areas. Cities are shown in bold; see City status in Ireland f ...
References
External links
* Buildings of Ireland
Drishane House
{{Coord, 51, 32, N, 9, 11, W, region:IE_type:city, display=title
Towns and villages in County Cork