Carrignamuck Tower House, Medieval tower house ruins in Carrignamuck, County Cork, Ireland.
Carrignamuck Tower House is a five-story L-shaped ruin in County Cork featuring battlements and narrow slit windows. The structure displays typical features of 15th-century Irish defensive architecture with thick stone walls and limited openings.
The tower was built by Cormac Laidir MacCarthy, Lord of Muskerry, and faced bombardment in 1650 during the Cromwellian campaign. Attackers fired from nearby Meeshal Hill, demonstrating its strategic importance during that period.
The structure reflects how medieval Irish nobles built fortified homes across their lands, and you can see how the design prioritizes defense over comfort in its small windows and thick walls.
The tower sits about 3 kilometers north of Coachford village and remains private property, so visits require permission from the owners beforehand. You can view it from nearby, but always check locally before traveling to ensure access on the day.
The ground floor contains a window frame from the former Church of Ireland parish church at Aghabullogue, installed during repairs after 1866. This unexpected detail reveals how later modifications reused materials from nearby religious buildings.
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