Kilcrea Castle

Kilcrea Castle is a ruined 15th-century tower house and bawn built by 1465 by Cormac Láidir Mór, chief of the McCarthy clan who also constructed Blarney Castle and Carrignamuck Tower House. Located west of Kilcrea Friary near Ovens in County Cork, approximately 20 kilometers west of Cork city, the castle sits in the valley of the River Bride, a tributary of the River Lee. The structure features a main five-storey tower house on the western side facing north toward the river, with a bawn on the eastern side anchored by a three-storey tower in the southeast corner. Built on a site of possible Bronze Age origins, the castle represents a significant example of McCarthy military architecture and clan power. Listed as a protected structure by Cork County Council, the ruins remain accessible to visitors and offer insight into 15th-century Irish defensive architecture and the region's medieval history.