From Cannon Balls to the Cosmos

Every castle has a colorful past. Most housed royalty. The Blackrock Castle in Cork, that looks like a picturesque small scale castle, but it began as a defense against pirates.

Blackrock Castle Observatory in Cork.

Cork’s busy shipping business attracted them. And while it was a political struggle to build it, it paid off. Eventually the pirates moved on to better booty in the Caribbean. After using it as a lighthouse and for parties, the people voted to turn it into an observatory and planetarium, giving it a new lease on life and the future.

The telescope in the Blackrock Castle Observatory

Now it serves as an education and family hub, and for research. The Cork Institute of Technology does research here on black holes and exoplanets. It has interactive exhibits, cosmological films and star viewing when the skies are clear.