Rostellan (Irish: Ros Tialláin) is a civil parish, townland and village in the historical Barony of Imokilly, County Cork, Ireland.[1][2] An electoral division of the same name forms part of the Cork East Dáil constituency.[3][4] For census purposes, the village of Rostellan is combined with the neighbouring villages of Farsid and Aghada. As of the 2011 census, the combined settlement of Aghada-Farsid-Rostellan had a population of 1,015 people.[5]
Rostellan Ros Tialláin | |
|---|---|
Civil parish | |
 Siddons Tower (an 18th century folly built on Rostellan Castle demesne) is now a ruin | |
  Rostellan Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates: 51°50′40″N 08°11′18″W / 51.84444°N 8.18833°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| County | County Cork |
| Irish grid reference | W873664 |
Promontory
Rostellan Wood, a forestry amenity managed by Coillte, lies on Rostellan promontory.[6] Rostellan Wood contains the ruins of an 18th-century folly and the remains of a megalithic portal tomb.[7][8] This portal tomb, known as Rostellan Dolmen, stands in a tidal section of Saleen Creek, and comprises a large capstone and three upright stones (with two of the uprights acting as supporting orthostats to the capstone).[7][9] The folly, "Siddons Tower", was built in the 1770s by Murrough O'Brien, 1st Marquess of Thomond on the grounds of his estate.[10] O'Brien, then 5th Earl of Inchiquin, so "greatly admired" the Welsh-born English actress Sarah Siddons (who reputedly visited Rostellan) that he built and named the tower in her honour on the Rostellan Castle demesne.[11][12]
Originally associated with the FitzGerald family, the O'Brien (Inchiquin) estate at Rostellan spanned the entire townland, and its manor house was Rostellan Castle.[13] In A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, published by Samuel Lewis in 1837, Rostellan Castle is described as an "elegant mansion", with its "highly cultivated and extensive demesne" spanning one-third of the parish.[14] While some ruined and standing structures of the estate remain (including a large set of gates in Rostellan village),[15] Rostellan Castle itself was demolished in 1944.[16][17]
Aghada GAA club, founded in 1885, has its main sports ground on Rostellan promontory.[18]