New path to the castle an early Christmas pressie for the town

WORK is now underway on a footpath that will finally connect Kanturk with its far famed castle.

It may be just a a coninuous line of concrete but it’s being seen as much more that just a footpath - it’s a connection local people have been waiting years for and it comes with the potential to unlock the accessibility of the castle as a local amenity and as a tourist attraction.

Community leaders have long maintained that the potential for Kanturk Castle must be realised so that the structure can become one of the centrepieces of the wider Duhallow region’s tourist offering.

However the importance of the Castle, a designated national monument, must also be placed firmly in the mindset of the community as a place of significant local and national historical and cultural importance. It’s been called “one of the great unsung gems of the Duhallow area”.

Built around the turn of the 17th century for MacDonogh MacCarthy, the Lord of Duhallow, as a defence against the English, it was never finished after the Privy Council ordered work to stop. While some historians believe this may have been as a result of the Battle of Kinsale, it is more likely MacDonogh could not raise the funds needed to complete it.

Whatever the reason, it was mortgaged to Sir Philip Percival (circa 1641) who took many of its fixtures to be used in his other properties.

Despite the ravages of time and weather, the structure remained in relatively good condition and in 1900 was donated to the National Trust Committee for Ireland by Lucy, Countess of Egmont, on condition that it be kept in the same unfinished condition it was in when handed over.

Unique in that it was the last castle in Ireland to be owned by the English National Trust, it was formally handed over to An Taisce in 2000, with then-President of Ireland Mary McAleese visiting Kanturk to formally accept the deeds on behalf of the Irish people.

With the castle now finally being connnected by footpath to the town it’s like an early Christmas gift.

Waterpower Staff presented a cheque for €1,700 to Dick White of Focus Ireland following their recent Workplace Sleep Out. They thank everyone who donated and sponsored the Fundraiser.