Clontinty castle sketch

A sketch from last weeks megalithic sketch trip with fellow Islanders Rob O'Rourke and Michael Nolan to various megalithic and historical sites in and around Glanworth in North Cork. This little gem was in the area called Clontinty and was probably the best catch of the day as it was so unexpected. It was nestled on a high surrounded by a woods and had mostly been reclaimed by nature with decades if not centuries old vines growing up the sides of it. It was still mostly intact which was a surprise, as normally a castle is missing one or more of its walls and has no roof but this one had all four and its roof. You can see looking at the map that it was the rivers that were the most important for the Normans, as every few miles there was a castle on the riverside, rivers being highways of the time, and probably they relied on them to be resupplied with fresh troops and supplies, with the interior being filled with hostile Gaels. The castle probably belonged to either the early North Cork Normans the Condon family or the later more powerful Roche Norman family.