Kanturk

History

Located at a crossing point at the confluence of the River Allow and River Dalua, evidence of ancient settlement near Kanturk includes a number of ringfort, holy well and fulacht fiadh sites in the surrounding townlands of Coolacoosane, Curragh, Greenane and Gurteenard. The town's English name, Kanturk, derives from the Irish or , meaning head (or headland) of the boar. To the south of the town, in Paal East townland, is Kanturk Castle. Known locally as the Old Court, this fortified house was built for MacDonogh McCarthy as a defence against English settlers during the Plantation of Ireland. The building was a limestone rubble Tudor mansion four storeys high, 28 metres in length and 11 metres wide, with four towers of five storeys high and a height of 29 metres. The castle was never fully completed. Accordingly, the Privy Council in England ordered that building works be stopped. After changing hands several times in the intervening centuries, Kanturk Castle is now owned by An Taisce (the National Trust for Ireland), and is a designated National Monument. These include a number of the town's bridges, which date to the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The larger religious and administrative buildings in Kanturk date to the early to mid-19th century, including the former market house (1810), court house (1825), Church of Ireland church (1858), and Roman Catholic church (1867).

Most-observed species

• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  122
• Rook

  Corvus frugilegus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  118
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  118
• Eurasian Wren

  Troglodytes troglodytes (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  102
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  99
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  91
• Western Jackdaw

  Coloeus monedula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  91
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  91