The ruined remains of Castle Magner's stair turret
The area takes its name from the eponymous Castle Magner, a Norman-era tower house which is located approximately 500 metres (1,600ft) east of the village itself on the eastern boundary of Castlemagner townland. Owned by a Richard Magner during the Irish Rebellion of 1641, the tower house was largely destroyed in the late 16th century. The lands surrounding Castle Magner were confiscated during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. The castle is largely in ruin, though the stair turret and parts of the surrounding bawn wall remain.
Close to the castle is Saint Bridget's Church, a disused but largely extant Church of Ireland church. While the church itself was built in the early 19th century, the surrounding cemetery contains gravestones which are dated from the 18th century and earlier.
Holy well entrance, with 1789 inscription and carved figures
A nearby holy well, also dedicated to Saint Bridget, is covered by a carved stone surround including an 18th-century inscription and a carving, sometimes claimed to be a Sheela na gig.
Castlemagner's Roman Catholic church, which is dedicated to Saint Mary and was built c.1880, is located within the village itself. There is a shrine to Edel Quinn, a local lay missionary, within the church grounds.
↑Charles Smith (1815). The Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Cork, Volume 1. J. Connor. p.296. About two miles to the N. of Clonmene [Banteer], is Castle-Magner [..] In the rebellion of 1641, this castle belonged to Richard Magner, agent for the Irish inhabitants of Orrery and Kilmore
↑Samuel Lewis (1837). "Castle-Magner". A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland. Castle-Magner, a parish [..] derives its name from the family of Magner, to whom this part of the country formerly belonged, and who erected a castle here, which was forfeited during the [Cromwellian] protectorate
↑"The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland". 67. Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. 1937: 180. That such [Sheela na gig] figures, though in a more restrained style, might be carved in all sincerity even later, is shown by the example at St. Bridget's Well, Castlemagner [..] It is carved by the door of the well, and [..] dated by Du Noyer to the seventeenth century{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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