Fota Tower

Fota Tower, stands on the western tip of Fota Island in Cork Harbour, in County Cork in Ireland.

This building isn't a real castle; it's a folly.

In the 1820s a John Smith-Barry migrated from England to Ireland. He took up residence in nearby Fota House which he had rebuilt from a hunting lodge into a large mansion in Regency Style design.

An architectural fashion at the time was to have a folly (a mock castle or castle ruin) in your garden. So Smith-Barry had Fota Tower built by Cork architect John Hargrave. It was built in a Tudor Gothic Revival style on the edge of the Fota Demesne, looking out over Cork Harbour. It was used by the Smith-Barrys as a hunting lodge. During the last part of the 20th century the estate fell into disrepair. Fota House was restored but the folly was left to fall into ruin.

Fota Tower consists of a main block of three bays, with a single bay block and two circular towers adjoining.

At present Fota Tower can not be visited as it is on private property.

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