Castletownshend
 
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Castletownshend on the map of Ireland |
Castletownshend ( Irish : Baile an Chaisleán ) is a village on the Irish southwest coast about 8 km on the regional road R595 from Skibbereen , in the civil parish Castlehaven (Irish Gleann Bearcháin ) in County Cork in the province of Munster . Castletownshend had 188 inhabitants at the 2006 census.
history
Megalithic buildings testify to the earlier settlement of the area, including the stone row of Gurranes , Knockdrum and the stone circle of Drombeg .
A first documented mention of the place comes from the year 1292. At that time the place was called Glanbarrahane , named after the rock valley (glen) in which the holy Barrahane ( Bearchán ), a hermit from the 5th century, is said to have lived. Gleann Bearcháin is still the Irish name of the civil parish Castlehaven, to which Castletownshend belongs. Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork and father of the physicist Robert Boyle, initiated a re-establishment in the early 17th century, at the time of Elizabeth I , after the Battle of Kinsale . He wanted to settle a purely English Protestant population in Castletownshend.
Around the middle of the 17th century, Richard Townsend , who had fought as a colonel with Oliver Cromwell against Irish insurgents, built his castle here. Only in the following years the place was named after the Townsend family Castletownshend . The castle was largely destroyed in fires in the 17th and 18th centuries, but was repeatedly rebuilt. It is still owned by the family today.
Attractions
Large 18th-century stone houses stand along the main road that leads down the steep slope to the castle and harbor, Castlehaven Harbor.
At the top of the hill is St. Barrahane's Church of Ireland . She is known for her stained glass, among others by Harry Clarke (1889–1931). The church has hosted the Saint Barrahane's Church Festival Of Classical Music every year since 1980 .
Personalities
Edith Anna Somerville (1858–1949) lived in Castletownshend , who initially co- wrote numerous humorous novels about Ireland with her cousin Violet Florence Martin (1862–1915) and later alone. The author's pseudonym of the two was Somerville and Ross, since Violet Martin called herself Martin Ross as the author. Her novels about an English official in Ireland were shown as a television series in the 1980s under the title The Irish RM . Her home, Drishane House, is now a museum that displays memorabilia from her life and provides information about Edith Somerville's work as a writer and painter.
Nevill Coghill (1899–1980), an Irish-British literary scholar, was born here.
tourism
Castletownshend has a fishing port for fishing boats and yachts. It is used by many yachts in the summer. There are three pubs in town. Bed and Breakfast has also been offered in the castle since 2007.
Web links
- Castletownshend Castle
- Castletownshend at Cork-Guide
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 51 ° 32 ′ N , 9 ° 11 ′ W