Dunkerron Castle, Norman fortress in Templenoe, County Kerry, Ireland

Dunkerron Castle is a ruined four-storey tower house on a limestone outcrop at Templenoe, near Kenmare, County Kerry. It was built in the 13th century as a Norman Carew stronghold, and its later enclosed court dates from the late 16th century, when Owen O'Sullivan became O'Sullivan Mór. An inscribed plaque of 1596 records the castle's link to the O'Sullivan Mór and MacCarthy Reagh families.

Built in the 13th century on a limestone outcrop as a Norman Carew stronghold, the four-storey tower house became the seat of the O'Sullivan Mór from the late 16th century, when Owen O'Sullivan took the title. A 1596 plaque records the link with the MacCarthy Reagh. After the Cromwellian conquest, the lands were confiscated under the 1652 Act of Settlement and granted to William Petty.

The castle features an inscribed plaque from the 16th century documenting a bond between two powerful local families. This stone record tells visitors about alliances that shaped the region's past.

The ruins are located behind Dunkerron Holiday Homes, roughly 2 miles west of Kenmare town on the Sneem Road. Access requires crossing private property, so respecting the property boundaries is essential.

The castle gave its name to the barony of Dunkerron, later split into Dunkerron South on the Iveragh Peninsula and Dunkerron North around MacGillycuddy's Reeks. The title 'Prince of Dunkerron' died with Donal O'Sullivan on 16 April 1754; the later Baron Dunkeron title granted to John Petty was unrelated to the native Irish title.