Although it is now partly ruined, Dunlough Castle is one of the most famous castles in Ireland. Built in 1207, shortly after the Norman invasion, it is one of the oldest Norman castles in southern Ireland standing at the tip of the Mizen Peninsula in West Cork, the extreme southwest point of Ireland.
The castle is an example of dry stone masonry and Norman architecture.
Dunlough Castle is a series of three fortified towers, which was unusual at the time, standing on the peninsula and connected via a wall. For that reason, it is also known as ”Three Castles Head”. Each tower is three stories high and has distinct designs. There are no turrets or parapets on the remaining structure. The deterioration of the Dunlough Castle was partly because of the dry stone masonry, a common attribute in the earlier Irish buildings. In later years, wet mortar and sand were used to construct the buildings to preserve them.
After its foundation, the famous O’Mahonys family lived in the castle and other nearby castles for the next 400 years. Their fortune started to decline after the Battle of Kinsale against England in 1601 and by 1627 the castle had passed into the loyalists but it is not known if it was ever attacked. The location of the castle made it almost impregnable.
The castle is said to be haunted by some of the O’Mahonys who suffered terrible deaths and it is said that a drop of blood drips from the towers every day. Another legend says that if someone ever sees the ”White Lady” of the nearby Dunlough Lake they will soon die.
