Ballincollig Castle
| Ballincollig Castle Caisleán Bhaile an Chollaigh |
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 Ballincollig Castle |
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| Creation time : | 11-15 century | |
| Castle type : | Hilltop castle | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Standing position : | Irish nobility | |
| Construction: | Quarry stone | |
| Place: | Ballincollig | |
| Geographical location | 51 ° 52 '45.6 " N , 8 ° 35' 59" W | |
| Height: | 22 m ASLTemplate: height / unknown reference | |
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Ballincollig Castle ( Irish Caisleán Bhaile to Chollaigh ) one is Norman castle ruins south of the city Ballincollig in Ireland's County Cork . It was built after the Norman invasion of Ireland . At first the Barretts , the masters of the area, lived in the castle. Ballincollig Castle still stands today but is badly damaged. The original donjon has been preserved, as has a large part of the curtain wall with two towers on top.
description
There seem to be no early descriptions of the hill fort. Ballincollig Castle was built on a limestone summit overlooking the Maglin Valley plain . Under the castle there is a dark, natural cave in the rock and around it the remains of a moat .
Wall and enclosure
The castle consisted of a large enclosure wall with a tower or donjon on one side and possibly a large knight's hall in the middle. A large part of this curtain wall has been preserved to this day. It is about 1.5 meters thick and 5 meters high. The perimeter of the wall was protected by a parapet and stairs led upwards at various points. On top of the wall were two defense towers, one of which is now a ruin and is located on the southeast corner and the other is on the south wall.
The enclosed courtyard has a diameter of 21-30 meters and is rocky and uneven. There is evidence of the existence of a knight's hall in the middle, because a section of the outer wall shows the remains of an open fireplace and a chimney draft and a window with two openings. It is believed that the towers on the curtain wall and the great hall date from the 15th century and were therefore built after the castle was sold to the Barretts.
Donjon
The tower or donjon dates back to the 13th century and was used by Coll. In 1857 the Wyse family had the donjon repaired, and the monogram W was affixed to its east wall and the year 1857 underneath. The donjon is 13.5-15 meters high. The ground floor has a vaulted ceiling and originally had no entrance door, only a trapdoor from above; it probably served as a prison. The room on the first floor had a staircase supported by arches. It is approximately 2.25 meters by 2.7 meters. A very narrow staircase leads to the upper floors, all of which have stone floors supported by massive arches. The walls on which the arches are supported are thicker than the others. The room on the 2nd floor has seats in the embrasures of the loopholes , a sink drain and a small, square cupboard in the wall above. The top floor with the main room seems to have received windows on all sides in the mid-19th century. There are loopholes in other parts of the walls of the donjon. The lack of windows and an open fireplace, and the fact that the small rooms took up all of the space between the tower's walls suggests that the tower was more of a final refuge and defensive place than regular shelter.
history
Conquest of Ireland
The Barretts came from Normandy with King William the Conqueror and helped him conquer England in 1066 . They were then given land in Pembrokeshire , Wales . Some of these barrets went with the Normans when they occupied Ireland in 1169. When the English King Henry II distributed the fruits of the conquest in Ireland, he gave the Kingdom of Cork, which stretched from Lismore to County Kerry , to Miles de Cogan and Robert FitzStephen . De Cogan was given land to the west and south of the city, and the family built a number of castles on their lands, including that of Carrigrohane .
The Barretts were subordinates under the De Cogans. They gained influence by serving various kings. The Barretts took part in the Conquest of Connacht in 1235 under John de Cogan , who led the Munster contingent. Because of this they seem to have become tenants of Carrigrohane under John Barrett for King Edward II of England in the wars in Scotland ; the king forgave his heir, William Barrett , from crown debts and leases.
The Barretts
In the 15th century, the Barretts appear to have settled in peace and quiet. They were now subordinates of the McCarthys , to whom they had to pay £ 11 lease a year from 1420, and the Earls of Desmond , to whom they had to pay 12 marks a year when they received the De Cogans' lands in 1425. After the mid-15th century, they bought Ballincollig Castle. In the Carews calendar , Sir Dominic Sarsfield wrote to Lord Carew on November 28, 1611: “Ballincollig has been converted into an inheritance and was purchased in the eighth year of Edward IV (1468–1469) from Robert Coil, a knight. Conversion to an inheritance on my own land. ”This became the headquarters of the Barretts until the early 17th century when the Barretts of Castlemore included Morne Abbey , Garrycloyne (both north of the Baronate), Castleinch , Ballincollig and Cloghan McUllick , approximately three to five kilometers south or southwest of Ballincollig. The exact location of the latter is not known. Some historians believe that it is in today's townland of Grange was, but one is not sure. But the Barretts also controlled Carrigrohane for a while.
Controversy arose in the 1590s. In July 1591, Andrew Barrett and 60 other men attacked Ballincollig Castle and drove Edmund Barrett "with swords, rifles, large sledgehammers or hammers, stones and barrel staves". Three years later, Edmund obtained a £ 100 fine on Sir Fineen O'Driscoll , Sheriff of Cork , for refusing to execute an edict that expropriated Andrew Barrett and the others who had taken the castle. In the following year, 1595, Edmund took his cousin to court. Andrew received a £ 20 fine, lesser sentences were imposed on two other cronies and they were jailed.
Loss of the castle
In the early 17th century, however, the Barretts lost Ballincollig Castle. The family was forced to borrow money to pay court debts and dowries. 1618 they had castle and lands to the Coppinger from Cork , moneylenders, pawn. "Willam Barrett of Ballincollig, County Cork, Lord (...), considering a payment of £ 240 by Edmond Coppinger FitzRobert of Cork, Lord, the aforesaid William Barrett guaranteed the aforesaid Edmond Coppinger, his heirs and successors forever all of them Castles, enclosures, villages, settlements, lands, leases and hereditary lands from and in Ballincollig (...) ”. This pledge was passed on to Sir Walter Coppinger of Cloghane (near Skibbereen), and in 1630 Coppinger came into full possession of the castle and lands in exchange for a further £ 790 to the Barretts. The castle appeared briefly in later history. In 1644 it was captured by Oliver Cromwell's troops and around 1689 it was garrisoned for King James II of England . After 1690, however, it was no longer used and fell into disrepair.
today
Today the castle ruins are in private hands.
swell
- Calendar State Papers from different years.
- WA Coppinger: History of the Coppingers .
- Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society from various years, e.g. B. 1892, 1897, 1906, 1908 and 1910.
- S. O'Grady (Editor): Pacata Hibernia .
- JH Parker: Observatories on the Ancient Domestic Architecture of Ireland . 1859.
- Smith's History of Cork .
- Tuckey's Cork Remembrances . 1837.
- John Windele: Notices of Cork . 1835.
