Rostellan
Ros Tialláin
Civil parish
Siddons Tower (an 18th century folly built on Rostellan Castle demesne) is now a ruin
Siddons Tower (an 18th century folly built on Rostellan Castle demesne) is now a ruin
Rostellan is located in Ireland
Rostellan
Rostellan
Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 51°50′40″N 08°11′18″W / 51.84444°N 8.18833°W / 51.84444; -8.18833
CountryIreland
ProvinceMunster
CountyCounty Cork
Irish grid referenceW873664

Rostellan (Irish: Ros Tialláin) is a civil parish, townland and village in the historical Barony of Imokilly, County Cork, Ireland.[1][2] An electoral division of the same name forms part of the Cork East Dáil constituency.[3][4] For census purposes, the village of Rostellan is combined with the neighbouring villages of Farsid and Aghada. As of the 2011 census, the combined settlement of Aghada-Farsid-Rostellan had a population of 1,015 people.[5]

Promontory

Farmland near Rostellan Wood

Rostellan Wood, a forestry amenity managed by Coillte, lies on Rostellan promontory.[6] Rostellan Wood contains the ruins of an 18th-century folly and the remains of a megalithic portal tomb.[7][8] This portal tomb, known as Rostellan Dolmen, stands in a tidal section of Saleen Creek, and comprises a large capstone and three upright stones (with two of the uprights acting as supporting orthostats to the capstone).[7][9] The folly, "Siddons Tower", was built in the 1770s by Murrough O'Brien, 1st Marquess of Thomond on the grounds of his estate.[10] O'Brien, then 5th Earl of Inchiquin, so "greatly admired" the Welsh-born English actress Sarah Siddons (who reputedly visited Rostellan) that he built and named the tower in her honour on the Rostellan Castle demesne.[11][12]

Originally associated with the FitzGerald family, the O'Brien (Inchiquin) estate at Rostellan spanned the entire townland, and its manor house was Rostellan Castle.[13] In A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, published by Samuel Lewis in 1837, Rostellan Castle is described as an "elegant mansion", with its "highly cultivated and extensive demesne" spanning one-third of the parish.[14] While some ruined and standing structures of the estate remain (including a large set of gates in Rostellan village),[15] Rostellan Castle itself was demolished in 1944.[16][17]

Aghada GAA club, founded in 1885, has its main sports ground on Rostellan promontory.[18]

References

  1. ^ "Ros Tialláin / Rostellan (Civil Parish)". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Database. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Ros Tialláin / Rostellan (Townland)". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Database. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Act 2017". Irish Statute Book. 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  4. ^ "Rostellan Electoral Division, Co. Cork". townlands.ie. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  5. ^ "Settlement Aghada-Farsid-Rostellan (CSO Area Code ST 18060)". Census 2011. Central Statistics Office. April 2011. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  6. ^ "Rostellan". Coillte. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Rostellan Dolmen". ringofcork.ie. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  8. ^ "Siddon's Tower, Rostellan, County Cork". buildingsofireland.ie. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  9. ^ "Rostellan Portal Tomb". irishstones.org. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  10. ^ Bence-Jones, Mark (1978). Burke's Guide to Country Houses: Volume 1 – Ireland. Burke's. p. 248. ISBN 9780850110265. the 1st Marquess built a tower in honour of Mrs [Sarah] Siddons, whom he entertained here
  11. ^ McCarthy, Kieran (2019). The Little Book of Cork Harbour. History Press. ISBN 9780750989602. The Earl of Inchiquin greatly admired her [Sarah Siddons] and built a tower in her honour in his grounds
  12. ^ "Siddon's Tower, Rostellan Demesne". irishstones.org. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  13. ^ Q., J.C. (1936). "Rostellan Castle and its owners" (PDF). Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society. 2. XLI: 109–111.
  14. ^ Lewis, Samuel (1837). "Rostellan". Topographical Dictionary of Ireland.
  15. ^ "Knockanemorney, Rostellan, County Cork". buildingsofireland.ie. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  16. ^ "Rostellan". Landed Estates Database. NUI Galway. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
  17. ^ Archaeological Inventory of County Cork. Volume 2: East and South Cork. Dublin: Stationery Office. 1994. CO088-024---- [..] Castle [..] Townland: Rostellan [..] No visible surface trace of Fitzgerald Castle, which was rebuilt as a large house "some time ante 1750, probably by the 4th Earl of Inchiquin" (Bence-Jones 1978, 248). The house was demolished in 1944
  18. ^ "About Aghada GAA Club". aghadagaa.com. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
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