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Ballinacarriga Castle today

Ireland · Partial ruin

Ballinacarriga Castle

Béal Átha na Carraige

Ballinacarriga Castle is a 16th-century Irish tower house located in the village of Ballinacarriga, County Cork. The building survives as a ruin in good structural condition and is not open to the public.

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Photograph via Wikimedia Commons

Its prime

1560

Today

Partial ruin

As it stood in 1560

What Ballinacarriga Castle looked like in its prime.

A 16th-century rectangular tower house rising several storeys with a compact, vertical silhouette. The stone tower displays projecting corbelled bartizans at its corners and evidence of a machicolation beneath the parapet; traces indicate a former portcullis at the principal entrance. Midway up the eastern wall a carved Sheela Na Gig is set into the masonry. The structure stands within the village of Ballinacarriga, largely complete in its ruined state.

Its story

The story of Ballinacarriga Castle.

Ballinacarriga, Béal na Carraige, "Mouth of the Rock", was built in the sixteenth century by the native Ó Muirthile, or O'Hurley, family, a tower house standing in its village near Dunmanway in County Cork. The family lost the castle and their lands in the aftermath of the 1641 rebellion, the failed attempt by the Irish Catholic gentry to seize control of the administration of Ireland from the Kingdom of England.

The castle is thought to have passed to the McCarthys, who controlled the surrounding area, and then back to the Hurleys, allied to them by kinship, until 1654, when the Hurleys lost it for good and it passed to the Protestant Crofts.

The tower kept serious defences: bartizans overhanging the walls, evidence of a machicolation for dropping boiling liquids and stones on attackers, and, unusually, a portcullis. Halfway up the eastern wall sits a Sheela na Gig, the enigmatic carved female figure found on castles and cathedrals across Ireland, Britain, France and Spain; whether it warded off evil or echoes a pre-Christian fertility goddess, scholars still cannot agree. The ruin remains in good structural condition.

Step inside

6 places to explore in 1560.

The record describes 6 distinct spots at Ballinacarriga Castle, including 1 interior: interior room used for roman catholic worship. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.

Approach from the village laneMain entrance with portcullis tracesEastern wall Sheela Na GigCorner bartizan turretParapet and machicolation evidenceInterior room used for Roman Catholic worship

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Whose castle

Clans who held Ballinacarriga Castle.

The families that held Ballinacarriga Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.

  • O'Hurley

    Built by the Ó Muirthile (O'Hurley) family in the 16th century and held until the aftermath of the 1641 rebellion; lost finally in 1654.

  • Crofts

    The castle passed to the Protestant Crofts in 1654.

Questions about Ballinacarriga Castle

What is the history of Ballinacarriga Castle?

Ballinacarriga Castle was built in the sixteenth century by the native Ó Muirthile, or O’Hurley, family. It remained with them until the aftermath of the 1641 rebellion, when they lost the castle and their lands. The Hurleys lost it for good in 1654, after which it passed to the Protestant Crofts.

What is inside Ballinacarriga Castle?

Inside Ballinacarriga Castle, a room in the tower was used for Roman Catholic worship. That room still bears some decoration from this use. The surviving descriptions also identify the building as a multi-storey tower house, but do not list other rooms.

Why was Ballinacarriga Castle built, and what was it used for?

Ballinacarriga Castle was built as a sixteenth-century tower house by the Ó Muirthile, or O’Hurley, family. Its bartizans, machicolation and unusually surviving portcullis indicate a defensive purpose. Later, one room in the tower was used for Roman Catholic worship.

Where is Ballinacarriga Castle?

Ballinacarriga Castle is in the village of Ballinacarriga, County Cork, near Dunmanway. It is about 9 kilometres from Dunmanway and 7.5 kilometres from Ballineen. The castle stands within the village itself.

When was Ballinacarriga Castle built?

Ballinacarriga Castle was built in the sixteenth century. A specific first-raised year is not recorded, although 1560 is given as its prime year. It is a tower house dating from that century.

Which family or clan held Ballinacarriga Castle?

Ballinacarriga Castle was held first by the Ó Muirthile, or O’Hurley, family. The Hurleys lost it finally in 1654, when it passed to the Protestant Crofts. The castle is also thought to have passed temporarily to the McCarthys, who controlled the surrounding area.

What did Ballinacarriga Castle look like in its prime?

Ballinacarriga Castle is a rectangular stone tower house rising several storeys, with a compact, vertical silhouette. Projecting corbelled bartizans stand at the corners, while the parapet retains evidence of a machicolation. The principal entrance has traces of a portcullis, and a carved Sheela Na Gig is set into the eastern wall.

Is Ballinacarriga Castle still standing or is it a ruin?

Ballinacarriga Castle is a ruin, but it remains in good structural condition. Much of the tower is largely complete in its ruined state. The surviving structure includes its defensive features and the carved Sheela Na Gig on the eastern wall.

Who built Ballinacarriga Castle?

Ballinacarriga Castle was built by the native Ó Muirthile, or O’Hurley, family. No individual architect or commissioner is named. The family built it as a sixteenth-century tower house in the village of Ballinacarriga.

Can you visit Ballinacarriga Castle?

Ballinacarriga Castle is not open to the public. It survives as a ruin in good structural condition within the village of Ballinacarriga. It is designated as a national monument of Ireland.

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