Sights in Kinsale
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Charles Fort
One of the best-preserved 17th-century star-shaped forts in Europe, this wonderful fortress would be worth a visit for its spectacular views alone. But there's much more here: ruins inside the vast site date from the 18th and 19th centuries and make for some fascinating wandering. Displays explain the typically tough lives led by the soldiers who served here and the comparatively comfortable lives of the officers. Built in the 1670s to guard Kinsale Harbour, the fort was in use until 1921, when much of it was destroyed as the British withdrew. The best way to get here is to walk – follow the signs on the lovely walk around the bay from Scilly to Summercove, 3km east of Ki…
reviewed
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B
Church of Ireland Church
St Multose is the patron saint of Kinsale, and the Church of Ireland church is one of Ireland’s oldest, built around 1190 by the Normans on the site of a 6th-century church. Not much of the interior is original but the exterior is preserved beautifully. The graveyard has some interesting large family tombs, and several victims of the Lusitania sinking are also buried there. Inside, a flat stone carved with a round-handed figure was traditionally rubbed by fishermen’s wives to bring their husbands home safe from the sea.
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C
Desmond Castle
Kinsale's roots with the old wine trade are on display at this early 16th-century fortified house that was occupied by the Spanish in 1601. Since then it has served as a customs house, as a prison for French and American captives and as a workhouse during the Famine. There are lively exhibits detailing its history and a small wine museumthat tells the story of the Irish wine-trading families, including names like Hennessy (of brandy fame), who fled to France because of British rule.
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D
Regional Museum
This nifty museum is based in the 17th-century courthouse that was used for the inquest into the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915. The museum contains information on the disaster, as well as curiosities as diverse as Michael Collins' hurley and shoes belonging to the eight-foot-tall Kinsale Giant.
reviewed
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E
St Multose Church
This is one of Ireland's oldest Church of Ireland churches, built around 1190 by the Normans on the site of a 6th-century church. Not much of the interior is original but the exterior is preserved beautifully. The graveyard has some interesting large family tombs, and several victims of the Lusitania sinking are also buried there. Inside, a flat stone carved with a round-handed figure was traditionally rubbed by fishermen's wives to bring their husbands home safe from the sea.
reviewed
