| Native name | Caisleán Ráthanáin[1] |
|---|---|
| Native language | ga |
| Locmapin | Ireland |
| Coordinates | 52.143050°N 10.383232°W |
| Location | Rahinnane, Ventry, County Kerry, Ireland |
| Owner | State |
| Designation 1 | National Monument of Ireland |
| Designation1 offname | Rahinnane Castle, Ringfort & Souterrain |
| Designation1 number | 10045 |
Rahinnane Castle is a tower house and National Monument located in County Kerry, Ireland.[2][3]
Location
Rahinnane Castle is located 1.73 km (1.07 mi) northwest of Ventry, in the west of the Dingle Peninsula.[4]
History
The ringfort on the site was built in the 7th or 8th century AD. The Irish name was originally Rath Fhionnáin — Finan's ringfort.
Local tradition once claimed that this piece of land was the last in Ireland held by the Vikings, as it was so easily defended.[5]
The stone tower house was built in the 15th or 16th century by the FitzGeralds, hereditary Knights of Kerry.[6]
In 1602, towards the end of the Nine Years' War, the castle was taken by Sir Charles Wilmot. It was ruined during the Cromwellian conquest (1649–53).[7][8]
Building
The ancient earthwork featured a 9 metres (30 ft) deep ditch, an entrance in the southwest and a souterrain in the southeast. The castle was rectangular and three storeys tall. Most of the outer walls remain; on the inside there is some mural stairway, traces of vaulting and a blind arcade. Two corner turrets are also visible. More than half the outer walls of the three-storey castle remain.[9]
References
- ^ "Caisleán Ráthanáin/Rahinnane Castle". Logainm.ie
- ^ Schorr, Frank. "Rahinnane Castle". www.castles.ancientireland.org
- ^ Alcock, Leslie (27 June 1963). "Dinas Powys: An Iron Age, Dark Age, and Medieval Settlement in Glamorgan". University of Wales Press. – via Google Books.
- ^ "Irish Castles - Rahinnane Castle". www.britainirelandcastles.com
- ^ "Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland". The Society. 27 June 2018. – via Google Books.
- ^ Vaughan-Thomas, Wynford & Hales, Michael (27 June 1980). Secret landscapes: mysterious sites, deserted villages, and forgotten places of Great Britain and Ireland. Select Editions. ISBN 978-1-85648-080-2. – via Google Books.
- ^ "Ancient to Medieval (And Slightly Later) History - Rahinnane Castle, County Kerry, Ireland Rahinnane...". Ancient to Medieval (And Slightly Later) History
- ^ Administrator. "Ventry - Ceann Trá". www.dingle-peninsula.ie
- ^ "Rahinnane Castle". irishantiquities.bravehost.com