55-495: Macroom Castle , in the centre of the town of Macroom , was once residence and fortress of the Lords of Muskerry . The castle has changed owners many times, has been besieged, burned, and rebuilt. The MacCarthys of Muskerry owned it with some interruptions from about 1353 when Muskerry was given to Dermot MacCarthy, 1st Lord of Muskerry , until 1691 when Donogh MacCarthy, 4th Earl of Clancarty lost it definitively. What remains of
110-628: A De La Salle secondary school for boys, the St. Mary's Secondary School ( Sisters of Mercy ) for girls, and McEgan College, a mixed technical college located in the castle grounds. The Convent of Mercy school is situated within the Sisters of Mercy's complex attached to St. Colman's Church, and also includes a convent, primary school, graveyard and grotto. Coláiste De La Salle was opened in 1933 and originally located in Macroom Town Hall , until
165-668: A "hinterland unpoliced and unwatched". Local RIC policemen felt they had lost control and the Auxiliaries were called to reinforce them. The townspeople of Macroom treated the Auxiliaries with hostility, and there were instances of their patrols being stoned. The British were embroiled in a guerrilla battle in the Muskerry hills, coming under fire from the Ballyvourney IRA cell, and lost three men – two of them officers – in one attack. On 28 November 1920 at Kilmichael , on
220-464: A linear shaped urban settlement of mainly thatched cabins, which were later replaced by solid cottages following a campaign by the Irish Land and Labour Association (ILLA). Macroom Castle was for a period owned by Admiral Sir William Penn , a Royal Navy officer and father of William Penn , after whom the U.S. state of Pennsylvania is named. The 1650 Battle of Macroom was waged as part of
275-677: A major battle c. 987 involving the Irish king Brian Boru . During the Middle Ages , the town was invaded by a succession of warring clans, including the Murcheatach Uí Briain and Richard de Cogan families. In the early modern period the MacCarthys took control and later the area found prosperity via milling. The MacCarthys built a series of tower houses , some of which survive. The family lost influence during
330-558: A number of Anglo-Irish families, and a branch of the Massey family , settled in the area. Many of their estate houses were burned in the period around the Irish War of Independence as the town was caught up in the turmoil of IRA activity. Today the town is an economic hub for the mid-Cork region, and the location of a Danone milk processing factory, which dries and cans infant formula from milk supplied by local dairy farmers. Until
385-470: A period of time. Macroom Castle was burned out on five separate occasions; the last occasion was on 18 August 1922, following the evacuation of the Auxiliaries from the town. Volunteers from the anti-treaty IRA retreated from Cork City to Macroom, burning the castle before leaving during the Irish Civil War . Mount Massey, which is now ruined, was the 18th and 19th century home of the members of
440-542: A permanent building was completed three years later. By the late 1970s the school was experiencing severe capacity issues and a re-structure and extension of the school was undertaken in 1982. Since its opening the ratio of pupils has remained relatively stable with 40% coming from the town and the rest from surrounding parishes. A new building was constructed in 2008 for St Colman's Boys National School after years of planning applications and appeals. Tyrone%27s Rebellion Too Many Requests If you report this error to
495-577: A prison for Protestants evicted from Cork. In 1691 the castle was occupied by the Williamites but then besieged by the Jacobites until Major Percy Kirke came and relieved it. The castle was confiscated in 1691 and sold by auction in 1703. It was acquired by the speculatory Hollow Sword Blade Company, who resold it to Francis Bernard , later the 1st Earl of Bandon . In 1824 Macroom was owned jointly by Bandon and Robert Hedges Eyre. The Gatehouse and
550-463: A reference to a large oak tree that apparently grew in the town-square during the reign of King John . Evidence of pre-history human activity in the Macroom area survives in the many Iron Age burial monuments; the area is unusually rich with standing stones , dolmens and stone circles . Later, in the early Dark Ages , Macroom seems to have been a centre for Bardic conventions and a base for
605-483: A town that was then stagnant economically. According to one of the organisers, Martin Fitzgerald, "The town needed a bit of shake rattle and roll to tempt not just international investors but Irish people to rest there a bit long...a rock concert fitted the bill". Line ups included Rory Gallagher , Phil Lynott , Elvis Costello Van Morrison , Marianne Faithfull and Horslips , and was attended by John Lydon of
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#1732791003398660-688: A valley at the foot of the Boggeragh Mountains . The town stretches for about 2 miles (3.2 km) and largely consists of two long streets, Main Street and New Street, divided by the Ten Arch Bridge, which also leads off to the suburb of Massey Town, further towards the village of Ballinagree and the Boggeragh Mountains. Like the rest of Ireland, the climate is temperate maritime , very even and heavily influenced by
715-516: Is 10.1 °C. The economy is primarily agricultural, with local dairy farmers being members of the Dairygold co-operative. Their milk is dried or evaporated in Mitchelstown as skim milk or whey concentrate , and eventually supplied to the local Danone plant, which produces infant formula for a worldwide market. Tourist attractions include the town centre, an 18-hole golf course, and
770-636: Is a ruined five storey rectangular tower house situated on a steep-sided rock overlooking the River Sullane . It is located 6 km west of Macroom, in an area once known as Gleann na n-Dearg ( Valley of the Reds ). The tower dominates the landscape of Lissacresig ( Fairyland ) in Clondrohid , and Lower Shanballyshane, in Kilnamartyra . Carrigaphooca is made of sandstone and limestone and
825-525: Is bounded by Toon Bridge, Illaunmore, and Anahala Bridge. The area is thought to have been wooded since the end of the last Ice Age c. 8,000 BC. The alluvial woodland extended as far as the Lee Bridge, and consisted of a large number of mature oak and ash trees. The reserve was gutted in 1954 when the Lee hydro-electric scheme led to extensive tree-felling and flooding. Now submerged houses are visible from
880-410: Is built from grey rubble stone, except the front of the guard chamber which looks like ashlar but is only a facing formed by plates of slate. Two cannons stand on pedestals before the gate. The castle ruin consists of a tower and the remains of the castle's west-wing. The tower is square and has three levels. It is crowned by crenulations. Its core probably dates from an earlier castle of which it formed
935-419: Is now derelict, although the graveyard is still in use. The remains of a thatched -chapel lies to the west of the town, on Lackaduduv mountain. A rare surviving form, the remnants are known locally as "Carrignaspirroge Chapel". Macroom is on the national primary route N22 , approximately 38 km from Cork city and 48 km from Killarney. The nearest airport is Cork Airport . A railway ran between
990-582: The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland , when English Parliamentarian forces led by Roger Boyle defeated an Irish Confederate force under David Roche. Bishop Boetius MacEgan , acting on behalf of the MacCarthys, failed to hold the castle. He was taken prisoner by Parliamentarian forces and executed by hanging at Carrigadrohid . Macroom was the main base in Cork for the Auxiliary Division of
1045-634: The Druids of Munster. The first historical reference to Macroom dates from the 6th century, when the townland was known as Achad Dorbchon and held within the kingdom of Muscraighe Mitine. The Eóganachta were then the dominant clan of Munster and held kingdoms from Muscraighe Mitine to the midlands town of Birr . At some point, they were replaced by the Uí Floinn, who commissioned a castle in Macroom so as to establish Raithleann as capital of Muskerry . Muscraighe Mitine underwent three invasions during
1100-783: The North Atlantic Current , resulting in mild winters and cool summers. Weather in Macroom is mild, usually warm, temperate and humid, with significant rainfall throughout the year, averaging at 1164 mm. Rain falls on average around 21 days of each month, peaking in December (average 24 days), and falling off slightly in June (average 21 days). Snow is uncommon; it tends to fall in January or February, for an average of 2–3 days per year. Wind speeds vary from c 80 km/h average in winter, to 50–52 in summer. The mean temperature
1155-546: The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) during the Irish War of Independence . The Irish Republican Army (IRA) was highly active in the county, especially in the areas around Macroom, Bandon and Dunmanway . RIC policemen in the town described the area as "practically in a state of war". After a series of burnings of local RIC barracks and courthouses a curfew was imposed on the town, with a ban on public meetings and market fairs. A local IRA volunteers wrote of
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#17327910033981210-518: The Sex Pistols . According to the 2011 census , the urban population of 3,879 included 3,535 people identifying as Roman Catholic . The town's Catholic church, dedicated to St. Coleman, was built in 1841. It was remodeled in 1893, based on a design by Dominic Coakley. Macroom's Church of Ireland building was constructed in 1823 on foot of a loan of £1000 from the Board of Fruits. The building
1265-545: The Williamite wars of the 1690s, after which authority over the town castle waxed and waned between the MacCarthys and a number of Anglo-Irish families. The population fell in the 1840s during the Great Famine . Evidence can be found in the former workhouse , now the district hospital at the north side of New Street, and the mass graveyard to the west, near Clondrohid . During the late 18th and early 19th century,
1320-616: The destruction of Irish country houses . In 1924 Olivia, a descendant of the MacCarthy chiefs, and widow of Lord Ardilaun, sold the castle demesne to a group of local businessmen, to be held in trust for the people of the town. Macroom Macroom ( / m ə ˈ k r uː m / ; Irish : Maigh Chromtha ) is a market town in County Cork , Ireland, located in the valley of the River Sullane , halfway between Cork city and Killarney . Its population has grown and receded over
1375-463: The 13th century. The Murcheatach Uí Briain and Richard de Cogan arrived in 1201 and 1207 respectively; the MacCarthys became the dominant and most powerful family and held Macroom Castle until the mid-17th century. From the 14th century, Macroom became the capital of the Barony of Muskerry and the centre for trade, burial and religious worship. It was one of the earliest Irish milling centres, and from
1430-462: The 1950s, New Street was the town's economic hub, and contained many small retail outlets. Macroom's Irish language name, Maigh Chromtha , likely translates as 'crooked plain' in reference to the bend in the River Sullane on which its historic core is situated. It has also been suggested that it may translate as "meeting place of followers of the god Crom " or "crooked oak", the latter
1485-596: The 2nd Viscount Muskerry , was negotiating with Ormond , the Lord Lieutenant, in Dublin. In 1650, during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland , Boetius MacEgan , Bishop of Ross , assembled a Confederate army at the castle, but when the Cromwellian troops of Lord Broghill approached, the castle garrison set fire to the building before joining the bishop's army in the castle park. During the ensuing battle,
1540-589: The 3rd Earl's daughter Olivia , who had been born in Macroom Castle in 1850, married Lord Ardilaun in 1871, the castle passed with her to the Ardilauns. During the Irish War of Independence the castle was used by British Auxiliaries who became the target of the Kilmichael ambush . During the Irish Civil War anti-treaty forces burned the castle on 18 August 1922, one of the many affected by
1595-474: The Castle Grounds, with fishing and golfing grounds. The town's surroundings contain large amounts of megalithic monuments, early Christian holy wells, churches and sacred sites associated with ancient visionaries and healers. Mushera Mountain is located a few kilometres to the north of the town, near Millstreet Country Park. It contains the ancient Saint John's Well. The Castle Arch, the centerpiece of
1650-543: The Irish War of Independence. IRA volunteer and politician Michael Collins was killed in 1922 in an ambush at nearby Béal na Bláth . Lady Olivia Ardilaun , a descendant of the MacCarthys, and widow of Lord Ardilaun , sold the castle demesne in 1924 to a group of local businessmen, which they put in trust for the town. Macroom was built on the River Sullane , a tributary of the River Lee . Its hinterland lies on
1705-515: The Market House were both built in the early 19th century (before 1824) as part of a plan to embellish the town centre and the marketb place. In 1840 Eyre died unmarried. His inheritance was broken up in parts. William Hedges-White , at that time only younger brother of the Earl of Bantry, inherited Macroom. He still owned it in 1861. He succeeded his brother as the 3rd Earl of Bantry in 1668. When
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1760-477: The Massey family, and is located north by Kilnagurteen and gave the townland of Masseytown its name. The family were major landowners with land covering 13,363 acres, extending from Clondrohid to Drishane. During the 19th century, the family tried to temper growing Irish nationalist sentiment by sponsoring the local town fair. Later their home and estate was besieged and burnt in December 1920 by IRA volunteers during
1815-527: The area around Two Mile Bridge. The scheme resulted in the loss of sixty percent of the former oak woodland. Today, the Gearagh is of interest and importance due to its rich and rare diversity of wildlife, and represents the only extant extensive alluvial woodland in Western Europe. The Gearagh is primarily of interest and importance due to its rich and rare diversity of wildlife, and it represents
1870-403: The area. By the mid-17th century, Anglo-Irish families owned approximately one-third of the town in value terms. The Protestant families introduced butter making, a labour-intensive industry. A 1750 tenement list details 134 buildings and 300 families, with a population ratio of 6 to 1 between Catholic and Protestants. The town had developed from a locality of mud cabins in the early 1660s to
1925-460: The bishop and Roche, the High Sheriff of Kerry , were taken prisoners. The sheriff was shot, but the bishop was offered his freedom if he could persuade the garrison of Carrigadrohid Castle to surrender. However, on arrival at Carrigadrohid he chose instead to exhort the garrison to hold on and was hanged from a nearby tree. Later in the war General Ireton sent a troop to Macroom that burned
1980-416: The castle is a gatehouse on the town square and a ruin near the bridge over the River Sullane . This ruin comprises an old tower, everything else dates from an early 19th-century rebuild by Robert Hedges Eyre . The town of Macroom is divided by the River Sullane into two parts of similar size. The town square and the castle are in the historic centre on the right, eastern bank. The castle extends between
2035-637: The castle until the middle of the 17th century. Teige MacCarthy, 11th Lord Muskerry, restored and enlarged the castle and died there in 1565. During Tyrone's Rebellion after the Spanish had landed in Kinsale and had been driven out of it again, it became known that Cormac MacDermot MacCarthy, 16th Lord of Muskerry had been in secret communication with them. On 18 August 1602 he was arrested. He escaped from prison in Cork City on 29 September. Macroom Castle
2090-424: The centuries as it went through periods of war, famine and workhouses , forced emigration and intermittent prosperity. The 2011 census gave an urban population of 3,879 people, while the 2016 census recorded 3,765 people. The town is in a civil parish of the same name. Macroom began as a meeting place for the druids of Munster . It is first mentioned is in 6th-century records, and the immediate area hosted
2145-410: The end of the 16th century the town grew from a village to a functionally diverse urban centre. The locality grew outwards from the castle. The MacCarthys established the town as a centre for markets and fairs, and in 1620 a market house was built to the east of and facing the castle. The family introduced a plantation scheme which aimed to attract new agriculture and industrial techniques and methods to
2200-399: The extended McCarthy family. After a protracted siege , their forces broke through the outer wall and burned the timber door at the north face entrance. The defenders surrendered and were allowed to go free. Carrigaphooca is positioned in an area rich with neolithic monuments; a stone circle lies two fields to the east. The tower is located on private property, and no longer accessible to
2255-509: The near extinct freshwater pearl mussel . The area is protected under the international Ramsar Convention . Today the Gearagh comprises wide but shallow water enclosing a series of small islands separated by anastomosing , mostly flat, river streams. It remains an area of outstanding natural beauty, with a diverse ecological system and wide variety of plants, birds and fish, including freshwater pearl mussel , Atlantic salmon , whooper swans , kingfishers and otters . Carrigaphooca Castle
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2310-445: The north-west corner, but its windows with their square hood moulds and the crenulations date from the 19th century. The main body of the residence was a three-story, six by three- bay block that formed the castle's south-wing. This building had been fashioned before 1750 by filling the gap between two older square or rectangular towers of similar height and reorganising the resulting house inside and outside. Its front looked out over
2365-401: The now missing main residential block. It seems to have been entirely built or rebuilt in the 19th century. It was partially demolished. Only the western facade survives and still looks out over the river. It has five bays. The central bay forms a projecting break-front that has a gate with a pointed arch and a crow-stepped gable. The windows have square hood moulds. Stepped crenulations run along
2420-448: The old castle grounds, admits walkers to the demesne parklands. It is held in trust to, and in the possession of the people of Macroom. Its large park contains riverside walks among mature oak and beech trees. The Gearagh is a national nature reserve on an inland delta, is located 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) south of Macroom. It comprises a series of small islands, separated by anastomosing , mostly flat, river channels or streams, and
2475-493: The once extensive park (demesne) that stretched southward along the river. This house was entirely demolished in 1967 after it had been burned in 1922 and had become derelict and unstable. It once dominated the town's skyline by its height and shear size as can be seen on old photos. Its place is now occupied by the modern wing of the Bishop McEgan College. The castle's west-wing once linked the surviving tower to
2530-547: The only extant extensive alluvial woodland in Western Europe. It hosts numerous rare plant species including marsh marigold , meadowsweet and nightshade , and 62 species of moss and liverwort . While oak and ash trees once pre-dominated, today there are a number of willow and alder trees on the higher islands and inlets. It hosts a large diversity of birds and wildfowl and attracts both summer and winter migrants. Examples include mallards , wigeon , Greylag geese , herons and coots . It also hosts Atlantic salmon and
2585-591: The public, although it is owned by the state and maintained by the Office of Public Works . From 1976 to 1982 Macroom hosted the annual Macroom Mountain Dew Festival , organised by young local business people. The festivals attracted up to 20,000 attendees each year, with lineups that included Rory Gallagher , Thin Lizzy and Van Morrison . It was the first of its kind for Ireland, and was intended to reinvigorate
2640-460: The river just upstream (south) of the bridge. It is separated from Castle Street by a screen of houses and not easy to access. The gatehouse is a medieval-romantic theatrical folly . Robert Hedges Eyre had it built before 1824. It consists of an arched passage surmounted by a guard chamber and flanked by two round turrets (towers). Stretches of crenulated walls are attached to either side. They end against neighbouring houses. Most of this ensemble
2695-604: The road between Macroom and Dunmanway, a convoy consisting of 18 Auxiliaries in two lorries were ambushed by IRA volunteers from the 3rd Cork Brigade under the command of Tom Barry . 16 Auxiliaries were killed and 1 wounded, while the IRA suffered no casualties. After the ambush, the Auxiliaries increased their mistreatment of the County Cork populace, and martial law was declared in the counties of Cork, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary, which led Macroom to fall under martial law for
2750-718: The top (see image). The castle probably originated in King John 's time (12th century). The founders might have been the O'Flynns , the Carews , or the Daltons . The castle's old Irish name Caisleán Uí Fhloinn suggests that it once belonged to the O'Flynns, who owned much land in this part of Muskerry before they were superseded by the MacCarthys. In 1353 Muskerry, and Macroom with it, was given as appanage to Dermot MacCarthy, 1st Lord of Muskerry , second son of Cormac MacCarthy Mor, King of Desmond . The MacCarthys of Muskerry owned
2805-437: The town and Cork city from 1866 to 1953, terminating in the mart grounds. By 1890 there were five services each way on week days and two on Sundays, with the running time taking just over an hour. Macroom railway station opened on 12 May 1866; it closed for passenger traffic on 1 July 1935 and for goods traffic on 10 March 1947, and was finally closed on 1 December 1953. The town has two primary and three secondary schools:
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#17327910033982860-629: The town and the castle. in 1656, during the Commonwealth, the castle was given to Admiral William Penn , the father of the founder of Pennsylvania. He moved into the castle in 1656. At the restoration of the monarchy it was restored to Donough MacCarty, now the 1st Earl of Clancarty , who further enlarged and renovated it. During the Williamite war in Ireland Donough MacCarty, 4th Earl of Clancarty , turned Jacobite and let on 11 September 1689 Macroom Castle be used as
2915-466: The town square and the river. It now consists of two disjoint pieces: the gatehouse and the castle ruin. Habitations, businesses, and a school, the Bishop McEgan College, occupy most of the former castle grounds. The gatehouse ostentatiously stands on the western side of the square, called the West Square, obliquely facing the Market House. The castle ruin stands further west on the steep right bank of
2970-631: Was besieged by government troops first under Captain Flower then under Charles Wilmot who captured it in 1601 or 1602 taking advantage of an accidental fire in the castle. In 1645, during the Irish Confederate Wars , the Papal Nuncio Giovanni Battista Rinuccini visited Macroom Castle where Lady Muskerry and her 11-year-old eldest son, Charles , received him while her husband Donough MacCarty,
3025-556: Was built as a defensive tower by MacCarthy clan member Donal MacCarthy of Drishane c. 1336–51. Cormac Teige MacCarthy, the Lord of Blarney took refuge in the tower after he had sided with the Irish during the Siege of Kinsale in 1601. He stayed there until he was forgiven by Elizabeth I after he had written a personal letter of apology to her. In 1602, the castle was attacked and taken by Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare and another member of
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