Ballyheigue Castle

About

Ballyheigue Castle, in Ballyheigue, County Kerry, is a ruined Tudor-gothic-revival-style mansion. It was used as a residence of the Crosbie family (including the Bishop of Ardfert and Aghadoe, High Sheriffs of Kerry and members of the UK Parliament) and later as a jail. It has been burned twice. It is currently part of a golf course.

History: It was enlarged in 1809 to a design by Richard Morrison on the site of an earlier house built in 1758 and incorporated part of the fabric of the original building. The 'castle' aspect of the name relates to the crenellations of the parapet. The large two-storey south-facing elevation with the entrance consisted of six bays flanked by three-storey, single-bay circular corner turrets. It was originally thatched and faced an enclosed courtyard. The site was the property of the Crosbie family, historically associated with the bishopric of Ardfert from the time of the Right Reverend John Crosbie (formerly Sean Mac an Chrosáin); before then the Mac an Chrosáin family were a bardic family of Leinster. From 1709, the property was the possession of Thomas Crosbie, member of parliament (MP) for Kerry (1709–10) and Dingle (1713-1731), High Sheriff of...