Caisleán na hInse aka Castleinch was built by the Barretts sometime after the Norman invasion, probably in the late twelfth century. The Castle at Castleinch was later taken over by the McCarthys. The castle was situated to the west of Castleinch graveyard, about a mile west of Iniscarra Dam, on the southern bank of the river.
Domhnall MacDomhnall, the last McCarthy to reside there, was usurped by the Barretts in the 15th Century. Almost two centuries later, Ellen Barrett of Castle Inch married Cormac Mac Teige McCarthy of Carrignamuck, Dripsey. When he was raised to the Lordship at Blarney Castle, McCarthy revived a tenet of the old Brehon Law to divorce Ellen Barrett so that he could marry Joan Butler from Co. Tipperary.
The ruins of Castleinch were demolished and submerged during the construction of the ESB hydro-electric scheme here in 1957.
The significance of Castle Inch arises out of the last enactment of divorce in Ireland under the Brehon laws.
Not to be confused with Inchyolaghan or Castleinch in the Barony of Shillelogher, Co. Kilkenny.
References
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History of Inniscarra | Ireland | VIEW SOURCE |
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