Castlepark

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Location of Castlepark within Kinsale harbour

Picture of marina at Castlepark; taken in 2002, the picture shows a view looking south-eastwards from Compass Hill on the Kinsale side of the Bandon river; picture also shows the village which straddles the neck of land joining the James's Fort townland to the main body of the peninsula; James's Fort, which is not in the picture, is off to the left

The Castlepark peninsula in Kinsale harbour on the coast of County Cork, on the south coast of Ireland is really more a presque-isle than a peninsula, being joined to the mainland only by an extremely narrow neck at its north-western corner. Thus, the Castlepark peninsula is almost completely surrounded by water: the River Bandon, flowing from the north-west, bounds the peninsula on the north; the entrance to Kinsale harbour bounds the peninsula on the east; the Atlantic ocean bounds it to the south; and the tidal inlet known as Sandycove Creek bounds the peninsula on the west.

Among the old buildings on the peninsula are James's Fort (early 17th century), Ringrone Castle (12th or 13th century) and the ruins of Ringrone church, the latter surrounded by an ancient graveyard that is still in use.

Located within the parish of Courceys, the peninsula, which has an area of a little under 500 acres, contains three townlands: James's Fort, Castlepark and Castlelands.

The James's Fort townland, which contains James's Fort, is, itself, a peninsula, protruding out of the north-eastern corner of the Castlepark peninsula.

On the western side of the neck which joins the James's Fort peninsula to the main Castlepark peninsula there is a marina; on the eastern side of the neck, there is a sandy beach; a small village, most of whose houses were built in the 1970s although some date back to at least the early 19th century, straddles the neck.

The rest of the peninsula consists of farmland with scattered housing. Most of the land is used for tillage (cereals and sugar beet), although there is some grazing of cattle and sheep. By the late 1990s, only one of the farms was still involved in dairying.

Sandycove Island, at the mouth of Sandycove Creek, is uninhabited; a herd of goats grazes the island so, presumably, fresh water is available.