Conna () is a village in
County Cork
County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...
, Ireland. It is situated on the
River Bride, southeast of the town of
Fermoy
Fermoy () is a town on the Munster Blackwater, River Blackwater in east County Cork, Ireland. As of the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, the town and environs had a population of approximately 6,700 people. It is located in the barony (Ir ...
, on the
R628 regional road. The village contains several pubs, a shop, a post office, a
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
church (built ) and a nearby
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
chapel. The village is dominated by
Conna Castle, a five-story
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, to command and defend strategic points ...
situated on a limestone outcrop near the river.
History
Evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of
ringfort
Ringforts or ring forts are small circular fortification, fortified settlements built during the Bronze Age, Iron Age and early Middle Ages up to about the year 1000 AD. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are ...
,
standing stone
A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright rock (geology), stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the Eur ...
and
fulacht fiadh
A burnt mound is an archaeological feature consisting of a mound of shattered stones and charcoal, normally with an adjacent hearth and trough. The trough could be rock-cut, wood-lined or clay-lined to ensure it was watertight. Radiocarbon ...
sites in the
townland
A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...
s of Conna, Clashaganniv, Curraheen and Kilclare.
During the mid-16th century, the Fitzgeralds, Earls of Desmond, built
Conna Castle on a high limestone rock overlooking the River Bride.
The castle and its estate was seized by the English and passed into the hands of
Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebell ...
, the English settler. The rightful heir to the castle,
James FitzThomas (the Sugán Earl) staged an unsuccessful attempt to capture the castle. The castle then went through a series of different owners before ending up in the hands of the
Earl of Cork. It is believed that
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...
passed by the castle and fired cannons at it before moving on.
In 1653, the castle suffered a fire in which three of the steward's daughters were killed.
The castle continued to move from owner to owner until Hilary L'Estrange purchased the castle in 1851. He passed it on to his son, Rev A. G. K. L'Estrange, on whose death in 1915, the castle was willed into the care of the state.
Notable people
*
Liam Kearney (born 1983), professional footballer and coach
*
Angela Lansbury
Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American actress, producer, and singer. In a career spanning 80 years, she played various roles on stage and screen. Among her numerous accolades wer ...
(1925–2022), actor and producer, moved to the area with her husband
Peter Shaw and lived in a 19th-century farmhouse named Knockmourne Glebe.
*
Bartholomew MacCarthy
Bartholomew MacCarthy (12 December 1843, in Conna, Ballynoe, County Cork – 6 March 1904, in Inniscarra, Co. Cork) was a scholar and chronologist who wrote extensively on Early Irish literature.
He was educated at Mount Melleray Abbey, Semina ...
(1843–1904), Irish historian
See also
*
List of towns and villages in Ireland
References
{{County Cork
Towns and villages in County Cork