MACROOM CASTLE

Although only a square tower and a few ramparts remain of Macroom Castle, the whole remains very elegant and gives a certain cachet to the eponymous town. Built in the 13th century, the castle passed in 1656 into the hands of Admiral Sir William Penn (whose son later founded the State of Pennsylvania in North America). The castle has been the victim of several fires (the last of which was during the Revolutionary War in 1922-1923), and its ruined keep was partially demolished in 1966 for security reasons.