kinsale church

Multose. The interior of the church houses an interesting collection of 17th century grave slabs while in the porch are the town stocks. Not far away, up a hill, are the charming 'Almshouses' built by Sir Robert Southwell in 1682, with a unique doorway of moulded red-brick. The 'French Prison' Tower: A small 15th or 16th century tower known also as 'Desmond Castle'. It has three storeys, with a finely decorated doorway (inserted later?) giving on to the street and a number of attractive ogee-headed windows particularly at the corner of the first floor. Behind the castle are garrison and prison rooms. The tower got its name because it was used as a prison for captured Spaniards, Portuguese, Dutch, French and even Americans from 1630 until 1800. The old Courthouse down the road is now used as a museum. Charles Fort: About two miles south of Kinsale, passing through the delightful village of Summercove, you come to Charles fort which is the best-preserved fort of its type in the country. Charles Fort is a massive star-shaped structure with the outer defences over 40 feet high. It has a fine classical doorway. It was built by Sir William robinson in 1677 on the site of a medieval castle. The buildings inside the fort are ruined 19th century barracks. There is a lighthouse at the south-western corner. While the parapets are extremely dangerous, they afford a magnificent view of Kinsale harbour. On a tongue of land on the opposite side of the harbour (but about 10 miles away by road) are the ruined remains of an earlier star-shaped fort called James Fort.

Kinsale was a town which was just a small port until it became the scene of one of the great disasters in Irish history in 1601 when a combined Spanish and Irish force under de Aguila, O'Neill and O'Donnell were routed by the English under Mountjoy.