Carrigaphooca Castle meaning Castle on the Rock of the Fairy; the word Púca translates as kind of ghost

Ghost

In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...

 or fairy

Fairy

A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term...

) is a ruined five storey rectangular tower house

Tower house

A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation.-History:Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountain or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strategic points with reduced forces...

, situated on a steep-sided rock, located 6 km west of Macroom

Macroom

Macroom is a market town in Ireland located in a valley on the River Sullane, a tributary of the River Lee, between Cork and Killarney. It is one of the key gateways to the tourist region of West Cork. The town recorded a population on 3,553 in the 2006 national census...

, County Cork

County Cork

County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

, Ireland. Although named as a castle, the Carrigaphooca was built as a defensive tower in 1436, probably by Donal McCarthy of Drishane. In 1602, the castle was attacked and taken by Donal Cam O'Sullivan Beare.

During the 1970s, the Office of Public Works

Office of Public Works

The Office of Public Works is a State Agency of the Department of Finance in the Republic of Ireland...

 undertook restoration of the site, and added a flight of steps leading over the rock base, joining with the main entrance. The ground floor chamber is lit by small off-center windows, and is flanked by a straight mural stairs which rises as a spiral to the 4th floor level.

In an area rich with neolithic monuments, a stone circle

Stone circle

A stone circle is a monument of standing stones arranged in a circle. Such monuments have been constructed across the world throughout history for many different reasons....

lies two fields to the east of the tower.