Ireland · Restored
Dunasead Castle
Dunasead Castle is a 17th-century fortified house in Baltimore, County Cork, built into a sandstone ridge and surrounded by a stone bawn. The present rectangular two-storey building with attic was constructed on the site of earlier fortifications and was restored in the late 20th century for use as a private residence.
Its prime
1625
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1625
What Dunasead Castle looked like in its prime.
Perched on a rocky sandstone ridge above the harbour, the castle is a long two-storey rectangular stone house with an additional attic set into the south‑west side of a continuous bawn or curtain wall. Built of grey‑brown sandstone rubble, the main wall runs roughly 18 metres with narrow slit windows on the ground floor and a small projecting bartizan at the south‑west corner; the curtain wall encloses a courtyard and continues along the ridge.
Its story
The story of Dunasead Castle.
Dunasead Castle, Dún na Séad, 'fort of the jewels', sometimes called Baltimore Castle, is a 17th-century fortified house built on a sandstone ridge in the heart of Baltimore, County Cork, overlooking the harbour. It stands on the site of a Norman-era structure that itself replaced a Bronze Age ringfort, and is traditionally associated with the chiefs of clan O'Driscoll.
The present building is a two-storey rectangular house with an attic, set within a bawn. Its defensive features are meagre beside the region's earlier tower houses, narrow slit windows on the ground floor and a bartizan at the south-west corner. In December 1413, during a feud, the then mayor of Waterford reputedly captured members of the O'Driscoll family and took them to Waterford.
The castle later fell into ruins, but was purchased and renovated by members of the McCarthy family between 1997 and 2005. It is now in use as a private residence, partially open to the public since 2005.
Step inside
6 places to explore in 1625.
The record describes 6 distinct spots at Dunasead Castle, including 1 interior: bawn courtyard (interior). Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
Build Your Own Castle
Recreate Dunasead Castle with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1625, a photoreal reconstruction that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
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Clans who held Dunasead Castle.
The families that held Dunasead Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
O'Driscoll
Traditionally associated with the chiefs of clan O'Driscoll.
Purchased and restored by members of the McCarthy family, 1997–2005.
