Ireland · Restored
Desmond Castle
Caisleán Iarla Dheasumhan, Cionn tSáile
Desmond Castle is a tower house in the town of Kinsale, County Cork, historically associated with the port and customs administration. Constructed around 1500, it later served as a naval prison, town gaol and workhouse, and in the 20th century was restored and opened to the public; since 1997 it houses the International Museum of Wine.
First raised
1500
Its prime
1500
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1500
What Desmond Castle looked like in its prime.
A compact multi-storey masonry tower house occupying a tight urban lot in Kinsale, standing as a single vertical block above neighbouring buildings. The structure has thick stone walls, successive internal floor levels, a ground-level storage/hold and an upper chamber that faces toward the harbour and town streets. From the quay it reads as a solitary tower associated with maritime trade, with a plain roofline and a functional, fortified appearance at its prime in 1500.
Its story
The story of Desmond Castle.
The Customs of Kinsale, 1497-1641
King Henry VII granted the customs of the port of Kinsale to the Earls of Desmond in 1497, and about the year 1500 Maurice FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Desmond, raised the tower house in the town, in County Cork, to serve as the customs house for that trade. An earlier building presumably stood on the site, since the 1st Earl had held the title Captain of Desmond Castle. The tower handled the port's customs until 1641.
The French Prison, 1641-1791
With a new customs house standing, the old tower was converted in 1641 into a naval prison. The prisoners held in it were in the main French and Spanish, and the building became known locally as the French Prison as a result. In January 1747 a fire broke out and killed fifty-four of the prisoners. In 1791 James Kearney MP donated the castle to the town of Kinsale.
Town Gaol, Famine Workhouse and Wine Museum, 1791-1997
Kinsale used the building as its town gaol until 1846, and during the Irish Famine as a workhouse. It was taken into national government hands in 1938 and much later restored and opened to the public by the Office of Public Works. It is a national monument of Ireland. In 1997 the International Museum of Wine, run by the Order of the Wine Geese and given over to the links between Ireland and the wine trade, was added.
Step inside
3 places to explore in 1500.
The record describes 3 distinct spots at Desmond Castle, including 2 interiors: upper customs chamber, ground-floor storage/hold. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Clans who held Desmond Castle.
The families that held Desmond Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
The FitzGerald Earls of Desmond built the tower c.1500 as Kinsale's customs house, following Henry VII's 1497 grant of the port customs.
