Rostellan () is a

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 ...

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 ...

and village in the historical Barony of Imokilly,

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. An

electoral division An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

of the same name forms part of the Cork East Dáil constituency. For census purposes, the village of Rostellan is combined with the neighbouring villages of Farsid and

Aghada Aghada () is a village in County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is situated on the eastern side of Cork Harbour, around 12 km by road south of Midleton. Aghada is also the parish name for the area. The civil parishes in Ireland, civil ...

. As of the 2011 census, the combined settlement of Aghada-Farsid-Rostellan had a population of 1,015 people.

Promontory

Rostellan Wood, a forestry amenity managed by

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 ...

, lies on Rostellan promontory. Rostellan Wood contains the ruins of an 18th-century

folly In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings. Eighteenth-cent ...

and the remains of a megalithic

portal tomb A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were somet ...

. This portal tomb, known as Rostellan Dolmen, stands in a tidal section of Saleen Creek, and comprises a large capstone and three upright stones (with two of the uprights acting as supporting

orthostat This article describes several characteristic architectural elements typical of European megalithic (Stone Age) structures. Forecourt In archaeology, a forecourt is the name given to the area in front of certain types of chamber tomb. Forecourts ...

s to the capstone). The folly, "Siddons Tower", was built in the 1770s by

Murrough O'Brien, 1st Marquess of Thomond Sir Murrough O'Brien, 10th Baron of Inchiquin, 5th Baron O'Brien of Burren, 1st Baron Thomond of Taplow, 5th Earl of Inchiquin, 1st Marquess of Thomond KP, PC (Ire) (1726 – 10 February 1808), known from 1777 to 1800 as the 5th Earl of Inchiqui ...

on the grounds of his estate. O'Brien, then 5th

Earl of Inchiquin Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

, so "greatly admired" the Welsh-born English actress

Sarah Siddons Sarah Siddons (''née'' Kemble; 5 July 1755 – 8 June 1831) was a Welsh actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. Contemporaneous critic William Hazlitt dubbed Siddons as "tragedy personified". She was the elder sister of John ...

(who reputedly visited Rostellan) that he built and named the tower in her honour on the Rostellan Castle

demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. The concept or ...

. Originally associated with the FitzGerald family, the O'Brien (Inchiquin) estate at Rostellan spanned the entire townland, and its manor house was Rostellan Castle. In ''

A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland Samuel Lewis (c. 1782 – 1865) was the editor and publisher of topographical dictionaries and maps of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The aim of the texts was to give in 'a condensed form', a faithful and impartial description ...

'', published by Samuel Lewis in 1837, Rostellan Castle is described as an "elegant mansion", with its "highly cultivated and extensive demesne" spanning one-third of the parish. While some ruined and standing structures of the estate remain (including a large set of gates in Rostellan village), Rostellan Castle itself was demolished in 1944.

Aghada GAA Aghada GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Aghada, Cork, Ireland. The club fields both Gaelic football and hurling teams in competitions organized by Cork County Board. The club is part of the Imokilly division of Cork. The for ...

club, founded in 1885, has its main sports ground on Rostellan promontory.

References

{{reflist Townlands of County Cork Civil parishes of County Cork