Castle Cooke

Castle Cooke lies in the townland of the Castlecooke, in County Cork, in Ireland.

Castle Cooke was built in the 16th century by the Condon family and was originally called Dun Gallane. It passed to the Cooke family in the 17th century, who renamed it Castle Cooke. These Cookes apparently came over to Ireland with Oliver Cromwell. Later it passed to the Collis family through marriage, who then started to call themselves Cooke-Collis.

The old castle was probably abandoned sometime during the 18th or 19th century, when the Cooke-Collis' had a new 'Cooke House' built some 300 meters northwest of it. That Cooke House was burnt in 1921 by Republicans and subsequently demolished.

The castle was built above the west side of the Araglin River. It is a rectangular 5-storey tower house with the round cornered design the Condons seemed to have favored.

At present, Castle Cooke is situated at the edge of a field, belonging to the farm that now operates from the outbuildings of the former Cooke House. The castle itself is freely accessible, but to get to it, you will have to cross the premises of the forementioned farm. I absolutely loved the interior.

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