15th Century Ross
Castle is located
1.5 km from the Town Centre on
Lough Leane. There are few castles anywhere in Ireland that can boast
such a dream-like enchanted setting as this ruined tower house on the
shore of Killarney's Lower Lake. Built in the late fifteenth century,
it is fairly typical of its type, with square bartizans on diagonally
opposite corners and a thick end wall containing a tier of chambers and
a winding mural stair.
The tower
stands within a square bawn defended by round
corner towers, two of which survive, the others having been removed in
1688 to make room for an extension, the ruins of which remain on the
south side of the castle. The castle was the chief seat of the
O'Donaghue Mors, hereditary rulers
of this district and descendants of the ancient kings of Munster. After
the Desmond rebellion their fortified lands were acquired by the
MacCarthy Mors from whom they were purchased by Sir Valentine Browne,
ancestor of the Earls of Kenmare.
