Ballincollig Castle is a Norman

Norman architecture

About|Romanesque architecture, primarily English|other buildings in Normandy|Architecture of Normandy.File:Durham Cathedral. Nave by James Valentine c.1890.jpg|thumb|200px|The nave of Durham Cathedral demonstrates the characteristic round arched style, though use of shallow pointed arches above the...

 castle to the south of the town of Ballincollig

Ballincollig

Ballincollig is a satellite town in County Cork, Ireland, approximately 9 km west of Cork city. It is located beside the River Lee on the R608 regional road. In 2006 the population of Ballincollig DED was 16,308. The nearest towns include: Ballinora, Ovens, Killumney, Inniscarra, Blarney ,...

, County Cork

County Cork

County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

, Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 built after the Norman invasion of Ireland

Norman Invasion of Ireland

The Norman invasion of Ireland was a two-stage process, which began on 1 May 1169 when a force of loosely associated Norman knights landed near Bannow, County Wexford...

. In its prime, the castle was inhabited by the Barrett

Barrett

- Court cases :* Barrett v. Rosenthal, a 2006 California Supreme Court case concerning online defamation* Barrett v. United States, a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that South Carolina had never effectively been subdivided into separate judicial districts-Fictional...

s, who had control of the local area. The castle still stands today, albeit heavily damaged. The original keep

Keep

A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...

 still remains, as does most of the curtain wall and two towers set therein.

Features

There appear to be no early descriptions of the castle. Ballincollig Castle was constructed on a limestone summit, with a clear line of sight over the low land of the Maglin Valley. Beneath the castle there is a dark natural cavern which runs into the rock and around it the remains of a moat.

Wall and Enclosure

The castle consisted of a large walled enclosure (or bawn

Bawn

A bawn is the defensive wall surrounding an Irish tower house. It is the anglicised version of the Irish word badhún meaning "cattle-stronghold" or "cattle-enclosure". The Irish word for "cow" is bó and its plural is ba...

), with a tower or keep on one side of it and possibly a large hall through the middle. Most of the enclosing or outer wall remains. It is about 5 ft thick and 15 ft high. The space on top was defended by a parapet with flights of steps leading up at several points. There were two defensive towers on the wall, one at present in ruins in the south-east corner and the second on the south wall.

The enclosure is between 70–100 feet across and is rocky and uneven. There appears to be evidence of a hall in the middle as one portion of the outer wall has the remains of a fireplace and chimney and a window of two lights. It is suggested that the towers on the outer wall and the hall are of 15th century making and were probably built after the sale of the castle to the Barretts.

The Keep

On the other hand, the main tower or keep is of the 13th century and was used by Coll. The keep was repaired by the Wyse family in 1857 and on the east wall a shield has been inserted bearing the monogram W with the date 1857 beneath it. The keep is 45 to 50 ft in height. The ground floor is vaulted and originally had no entrance to it except by a trap door from above, so it was probably a prison. The room on the first floor had a path up to it, carried on arches. It is about 7.5 ft by 9 ft. A very narrow staircase leads to other stories, all of which have stone floors on solid arches. In order to support them the two walls on which they rest are thicker than the others. The second story has seats in the lambs of the loopholeg a drain from a lavatory and a small square cupboard in the wall over it. The upper floor of chief chamber seems to have had windows added on all sides in the middle of the 19th century. However, there are loopholes in other parts of the walls of the keep. The lack of windows and a fire place and the fact that the small rooms occupied all the internal space between the walls suggests that the building was more of a keep for last defence than a regular living quarters.

The Conquest of Ireland

The Barretts travelled from Normandy

Normandy

Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...

 with William the Conqueror

William I of England

William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...

 and helped him to conquer England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 in 1066. They subsequently received grants of land in Pembrokeshire

Pembrokeshire

Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....

, Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

. Some of these Barretts travelled with the Normans when they came to conquer Ireland in 1169. When Henry II

Henry II of England

Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...

 parcelled out the spoils of conquest in Ireland he gave the Kingdom of Cork, stretching from Lismore, County Waterford

Lismore, County Waterford

Lismore is a town in County Waterford, Ireland. It is located where the N72 road crosses the River Blackwater.-History:It was founded by Saint Mochuda, also known as Saint Carthage. In the 7th century, Lismore was the site of the well-known Lismore Abbey. It is also home to Lismore Castle, the...

 to County Kerry

County Kerry

Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...

, to Milo de Cogan and Robert Fitzstephen. De Cogan received land west and south of the city and the family built a number of castles on their lands including one at Carrigrohane.

The Barretts were underlords of the de Cogans. They rose in influence through service to various kings. The Barretts travelled to conquer Connacht

Connacht

Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...

 in 1235 under John de Cogan

John de Cogan

John de Cogan, Anglo-Irish knight, fl. 1233-1278.De Cogan was a grandson of Milo de Cogan and Christina Pagnel; his parents were Richard de Cogan and Basile de Riddlesford....

 who led the Munster

Munster

Munster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the south of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes...

 contingent. Because of this they seem to have become tenants of Carrigrohane under John Barrett for King Edward II

Edward II of England

Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...

 in wars in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, the king pardoned Crown debts and rents chargeable on his heir, William Barrett

William Barrett

William Barrett may refer to:*William Barrett *William Barrett *William Barrett , American philosopher and critic*William A. Barrett , American politician and a member of the Democratic Party...

.

The Barretts

During the 15th century the Barretts seem to have settled down to a reasonably peaceful existence. They were now underlords of the McCarthys to whom they paid rent of £11 a year from 1420 and later the Earls of Desmond to whom they paid 12 marks yearly after 1425, when the Desmond were granted de Cogan lands. After the middle of that century they purchased Ballincollig Castle. In the Carew Calendar, 28 November 1611, Sir Dominic Sarsfield wrote to Lord Carew, “Ballincollig is entailed and was purchased in the 8th year of Edward 4 (1468-9) from Robert Coil, a knight. Deed of entail in my own lands”. This was to become the principal Barrett stronghold until the early 17th century when Castlemore Barretts seem to have had (Mourne Abbey

Mourne Abbey

Mourneabbey is a small parish just south of Mallow, County Cork, Ireland, on the main Mallow-Cork Road and Rail Line. The population of the parish is about 1,000 people. There are two churches and schools in the area, Analeentha and Burnfort.-History:The Abbey was built c. 1199 by the Knights...

), Garrycloyne ( both in the north of the Barony), Castleinch, Ballincollig and Cloghan McUllick about 2–3 miles south or south-west of Ballincollig. The exact location of the latter is not certain. Some historians suggest the present townland

Townland

A townland or bally is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland. The townland system is of Gaelic origin—most townlands are believed to pre-date the Norman invasion and most have names derived from the Irish language...

 of Grange but there is some doubt about this. However, the Barretts also controlled Carrigrohane for some time.

In the 1590s a dispute arose. In July 1591 Andrew Barrett and sixty others assaulted Ballincollig Castle and dispossessed Edmund Barrett, “with swords, guns, great sledges or hammers, skenes, stones and staves”. Three years later Edmund got a decree of £100 against Sir Fineen O’Driscoll, Sheriff of Cork

County Cork

County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

, for refusing to execute a writ dispossessing Andrew Barrett and others who had seized the castle. In the following year, 1595, Edmund took his cousin to court. A fine of £20 was imposed on Andrew and lesser fines on two others and they were jailed.

Castle Lost

However, early in the 17th century, the Barretts lost Ballincollig Castle. The family were driven to borrowing money to pay for court fines and dowries. They had to obtain a mortgage on the castle and lands in 1618 from the Coppingers of Cork who were moneylenders. “William Barrett of Ballincollig in the County of Cork, gent,… in consideration of £240 paid by Edmond Coppinger Fitzrobert of Corke, gent, the said William Barrett granted to the said Edmond Coppinger, his heirs and assigns for ever all that and those the castles, bawnes, towns, villages, hamlets, lands, tenements and hereditaments of and in Ballincolly…”. This mortgage was transferred to Walter Coppinger, Cloghane (near Skibbereen) and in 1630 for the payment of £790 to the Barretts, Coppinger came into full possession of the castle and lands. The castle featured briefly in later history. In 1644 it was taken by Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

's forces and around 1689 it was garrisoned for James 2. But after 1690 it was unused and it fell into disrepair.

Today

Any suggestions about the present and future use of the castle can only be tentative as the castle is in private ownership. One can say that it is not significant enough to merit restoration to its original condition. However some of its outer wall and the two towers could be made safer. Additionally, work would need to be carried out on the approach road and some plaques put on various parts of the building identifying them. In this way our heritage could be brought closer to us through both educational and tourist usage.