New Page 1

Home Page Neolithic Forts Bronze Age Iron Age Christian Norman Modern Links & Virtual Museum

Carraigafoile Castle Cont.:-

Thánaigh Lung Ó Valparaiso

The Interior :- Carraigafoyle Castle / Tower, ( 30mts. tall / 90ft. ) was fortified around 1580 during the Desmond Rebellion by John ó Connor and had a garrison which included Irish, Spanish and Italian soldiers under a Captain Julian all of whom defended it during the Rebellion. This they did successfully until the English commander Sir William Pelham bombarded it with a cannon on the Landward side destroying the Bawn and the Front entrance. Because of this we can now see the original Gothic style Vaulted ceiling which encloses the main hall. The Great Hall was the centre of life within these Castles / Towers and were used for Feasting, Celebrations, Ceilís / Set Dancing and of course Story Telling. This was the time of the Travelling Musician, Seanachí / Story Teller, Poets, Ballad Singers and Artisans who travelled the Irish countryside stopping along the way at the numerous Great Houses where their unique and greatly appreciated Crafts, were always assured of a welcome. These " Travellers " were the bringers of news both good and bad i.e. the newspapers or televisions of their time, and without them the Irish country side would have been a poorer place. What paid for all of this ? one may ask. " Tax " collecting was one way but the favoured way was the smuggling of Wine, Port and Brandy from the " Continent " including France, Spain and Italy with whom We had " an Understanding ". Many Irish families sent a son abroad to join the church or indeed marry and it was by this means that contacts were made and consolidated. Indeed many Irish family names, ( during the Flight of the Wild Geese ), were and do appear on familiar Winery Labels today e.g. Lynch Bage, Barton and Getie etc. and if Irving Stone is to be believed the " Mona Lisa " was descended from a Dingle family " Cred é no nar Creid " / believe it OR not.

The walls of the Tower houses would have been extremely bare but for the Wall Hangings / Tapestries / Carpets with which they would have been Hung / Decorated. These of course would have been Traded for or sent back , ( by a family member who would have been " on the Continent " ) from France, Italy, or the " Near East ". There are two rooms on each floor which had to be confined to the rear / water side of the Great Hall excluding the Top floor. These are assessed by means of a Stone Spiral staircase with 104 Limestone steps and extend out from a Central core and within enclosing curved walls. Both the Steps and Risers are deliberately kept narrow so that a Defender with the height advantage, was able to hold his Sword in his right hand, thereby easily defeating the Disadvantaged attacker. The Attacker had to hold his sword in his Left hand while at the same time trying to keep his " feet " and could only hope to reach his opponents feet.

On each floor a door leads to the rooms and as there are no corridors Privacy did not exist. Toilet facilities for example consisted of a " Chamber pot " which was either emptied out the window or had to be taken to the Cess pit each morning, ( these cess pits can reveal a lot about life in Medieval times and today's Archaeologists can gain a great deal of information from them ). The modern facility of a " Recess "/ timber box over an open shute could be found in the later Mansions / Big houses, but even at this stage the Leaded window would have been standard, especially in the upper floors where the head of the Clan / Family would have had their Chambers / Rooms.

The windows / Lights are in the Gothic Style and have the distinctive Minaret like / OGIE headed outline he upper floors have double lights and as you can see the higher you go the broader the view and of course the benefit is your Observation of all that surrounds you. Elements of this building show that " Up Dating " has taken place in that the doorway which started out in the Roman / Rounded style has been transformed into the Gothic / Pointed Arch style but the earlier stone work has been left in situ. There is nothing new in the " Make over", and as Techniques and methods improve and develop these influences are incorporated into " Local " ways.