Historic Houses & Forts in County Cork

Corcaigh · Munster · 20 places

County Cork (Corcaigh) in Munster features 20 mapped historic houses & forts, led by Fort Mitchell, Charles Fort, and Bantry House. Across these 20 listings, 6 feature verified photography, 1 offers free entry, and 13 include mapped nearby public parking. Stately homes, manor houses, and ancient ringforts.

Showing 20 of 20 places

FortCork

Fort Mitchell

Spike Island (Irish: Inis Píc) is an island of 103 acres (42 ha) in Cork Harbour, Ireland. Originally the site of a monastic settlement, the island is dominated by an 18th-century bastion fort now named Fort Mitchel. The island's strategic location within the harbour meant it was used at times for defence and as a prison. Since the early 21st century the island has been developed as a heritage tourist attraction, with €5.5 million investment in exhibition and visitor spaces and accompanying tourism marketing. There were in excess of 81,000 visitors to the island during 2019, a 21% increase on 2018 numbers. Spike Island was named top European tourist attraction at the 2017 World Travel Awards.

FortCharles Fort

FortCork

Charles Fort

Charles Fort (Irish: Dún Chathail) is a trace italienne fortification, a bastion fort with one section of the outer wall built in star fashion. It is located at the southern end of the village of Summer Cove, on Kinsale harbour, County Cork, Ireland. First completed in 1682, Charles Fort was sometimes historically referred to as the "new fort", to contrast with James' Fort (the "old fort") which had been built on the other side of Kinsale harbour before 1607. The fort is now operated as a heritage tourism site by the Heritage Ireland arm of the Office of Public Works.

HouseBantry House

HouseCork

Bantry House

Bantry House is a historic house with gardens in Bantry, County Cork, Ireland. Originally built in the early 18th century, it has been owned and occupied by the White family (formerly Earls of Bantry) since the mid-18th century. Opened to the public since the 1940s, the house, estate and gardens are a tourist destination in West Cork.

FortCork

Camden Fort Meagher

Camden Fort Meagher is a coastal defence fortification close to Crosshaven, County Cork, Ireland. Together with similar structures at Fort Mitchell (Spike Island), Fort Davis (Whitegate), and Templebreedy Battery (also close to Crosshaven), the fort was built to defend the mouth of Cork Harbour. Though originally constructed in the 16th century, the current structures of the fort date to the 1860s. Originally named Fort Camden and operated by the British Armed Forces, the fort (along with other Treaty Port installations) was handed-over to the Irish Defence Forces in 1938. Renamed Fort Meagher in honour of Thomas Francis Meagher, it remained an Irish military installation until 1989 when the Irish Army handed the fort over to Cork County Council. It remained largely overgrown until 2010 when a group of local volunteers began restoration and development of the fort for heritage and tourism purposes. The fort was renamed Camden Fort Meagher and is now open seasonally to visitors, with exhibits on the fort's Brennan torpedo installation (the world's first "practical guided weapon").

HouseCork

Dripsey Castle

Dripsey Castle is a country house in the townland of Carrignamuck, situated 3.3 km (2.1 mi) north-east of Coachford village and 2.5 km (1.6 mi) north-west of Dripsey village. The house was built, c. 1740, to replace the earlier 15th-century Carrignamuck Tower House.

FortElizabeth Fort

FortCork

Elizabeth Fort

Elizabeth Fort is a 17th-century star fort off Barrack Street in Cork, Ireland. Originally built as a defensive fortification on high-ground outside the city walls, the city eventually grew around the fort, and it took on various other roles – including use as a military barracks, prison, and police station. Since 2014, the fort has seen some development as a tourism heritage site, reportedly attracting 36,000 visitors during 2015. The walls of the fort have been accessible to the public on a regular basis since September 2014.

HouseBirth Place of General Michael Collins

HouseCork

Birth Place of General Michael Collins

The Michael Collins Birthplace is a cottage and National Monument located in Kilkerranmore, County Cork, Ireland. It was the birthplace of Irish revolutionary leader Michael Collins (1890–1922).