Desmond Castle, (HI) - Kinsale

Guided tours; wine museum exhibition. Unsuitable to disabled visitors with access by stone stairway.

Built as a custom-house by the Earl of Desmond around 1500, the Castle has had a colourful history including the Spanish occupation in 1601 to being used as a prison for American sailors during the American War of Independence.

The castle is known locally as 'The French Prison' after a tragic fire in 1747 in which 54 mainly French seamen died. 

An interesting feature of the castle these days is the International Museum of Wine which relates the story of Ireland's wine links with Europe and the rest of the world.