Location: Beara Peninsula Map
Destroyed: 1602 after Siege of Dunboy
Dunboy Castle (Irish: Caisleán Dhún Baoi) is the
ruin of a lowland castle on the Beara Peninsula near the town of
Castletownbere in County Cork, Ireland. It was a fortress of
O'Sullivan Bere, a Gaelic clan chief and "chief of Dunboy"; from
there, the port of Berehaven (Castletownbere) should be guarded and
defended. The existence of Dunboy Castle enabled O'Sulliven Bere to
control the marine fishing grounds off the Irish coast and demand
taxes on Irish and continental European vessels seeking shelter in
the harbor. Dunboy Castle was also a center for import and export to
and from continental Europe. Today, much of the castle is destroyed,
but the ruins are open to the public.
Dunboy Castle was besieged in the summer of 1602, eventually leading
to its destruction and the breaking of O'Sullivan Bere's power. At
that time, Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare was in rebellion against the
English crown and Queen Elizabeth I had sent a 5,000-strong army
under the command of George Carew, 1st Earl of Totnes, to quell the
rebels. Despite his small garrison of only 143 men Dunboy Castle was
considered impregnable, but after a wild Artillieriebombardement the
walls were crumbled and after some hopeless fighting man against man
in the rubble of the walls defenders finally defeated. The 58
survivors of the two-week siege were executed on the nearby market
square.
Near the castle ruins is the Puxley Mansion, a 19th century country
house. It was burned down by the IRA in 1920 by the IRA in
retaliation for the destruction of houses containing men and weapons
of the IRA. Some restoration work was completed in the 2000s, but
financial problems prevented the conversion of the country house
into a hotel and its opening.