The ballincollig Castle or what remains of it, is found south of the town of Ballincollig in County Cork, in Ireland.
the castle was raised on a limestone outcropping and consists of an enclosure, more or less rectangular, with a tall and slender tower 15 meters high in the middle.
It is a 12th-century Norman castle that was built by Sir Robert Coll shortly after the Norman invasion of Ireland. What can most notably be seen today, the keep dates from the 13th century.
The northern part of the enclosure is the oldest since in the 16th century it was extended to the south to occupy the rest of the rocky outcrop on which it is located.
In 1458, the Barrett clan bought the castle from Robert Coll, an influential gentleman of that time. Strength would become the Barrett’s main stronghold until the beginning of the 17th century, when they began to experience financial difficulties.
In 1591, when the castle was managed by Edmund Barrett, was assaulted by his cousin, Andrew Barrett, and 70 other men, who took control of the castle. Years later, Edmund took his cousin to court and was fined £20 (about €23, $26) and jailed by Andrew Barrett.
In the 17th century, the Barretts, after requesting several loans, they were awash in debt. They had to mortgage the castle, which eventually ended up in the hands of Sir Walter Coppinger after £790 (€930, $1,050). Coppinger took over the castle and its lands.
Already in 1644 the Ballincollig castle was besieged and taken by Oliver Cromwell’s troops. Some time later, around 1689, he was garrisoned by James II during the Williamite War of Ireland.
After the defeat in the war, the castle was vacated and fell into disrepair.
Passed decades of neglect and abandonment until, in 1857, the Wyse family repaired the keep. The Wyse added a shield with the monogram «W» and the year 1857 on one of the walls of the tower.
Nowadays, Ballincollig Castle is freely accessible. It can Climb the tower and get some good views of the surrounding fields, via a stone spiral staircase inside.