Rahinnane Castle facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Rahinnane Castle |
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| Native name Irish: Caisleán Ráthanáin |
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| Type | tower house atop ringfort |
| Location | Rahinnane, Ventry, County Kerry, Ireland |
| Owner | State |
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National Monument of Ireland
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| Official name: Rahinnane Castle, Ringfort & Souterrain | |
| Reference no. | 221.21 |
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Rahinnane Castle is a tower house and National Monument located in County Kerry, Ireland.
Location
Rahinnane Castle is located 1.73 km (1.07 mi) northwest of Ventry, in the west of the Dingle Peninsula.
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.
The stone tower house was built in the 15th or 16th century by the FitzGeralds, hereditary Knights of Kerry.
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).
Building
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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.
Rahinnane Castle was built in the 15th or 16th century by the Knight of Kerry. It is a large ruinous rectangular tower inside a massive circular earthwork. There is a huge bank and ditch approximately 9m deep. More than half the outer walls of the three-storey castle remain.
