North Cork Fine Gael Councillor John Paul O’ Shea this week confirmed that a footpath is to erected in the coming weeks linking the Town of Kanturk with the Town’s Historic Castle on the Banteer Road. Tenders for the works were received in recent weeks and a contractor for the project has been selected.
Welcoming the news, Cllr. O’ Shea said “I am delighted a link is finally being created between the Town of Kanturk and the Castle. The Castle is a wonderful amenity in the area and I strongly believe by providing safe pedestrian access from the Town to the Castle, this will allow greater connection with this wonderful historic amenity and allow more events to take place here. I know this has been also been a priority for the Community Council and Tidy Towns Committee in Kanturk in recent months so it is extra special that I can now confirm that these works are now to proceed”.
Kanturk Castle is a fortified house built in 1601 for MacDonagh McCarthy as a defence against English settlers. It was a limestone rubble Tudor mansion four storey’s high, 28 metres in length and 11 metres wide, with four towers of five storey’s high and a height of 29 metres. According to legend, the castle was never completed as word of its construction reached the Privy Council in England. They ordered MacDonagh to stop building works, as they feared it would be used as a base to attack English settlers. MacDonagh was allegedly so furious at this news that he smashed all the blue ceramic tiles for the roof and threw them into a nearby stream. The stream then became known as the Bluepool Stream because of the reflection of the tiles in the water. Due to its architectural and historic importance, the Castle is a designated National Monument.
Cllr. O’ Shea added “When this footpath is complete, this will allow the community of Kanturk to engage more with this wonderful amenity. I will be working with Kanturk Chamber , Kanturk Community Council and Kanturk Tidy Towns Committees over the coming months in order to ensure we utilise this facility now that it will be accessible from the town. I will also be looking intot he possibility of extending the footpath to Jacko’s Cross as I know alot of people in the community use this as a walking route from the Town”.
