The Old Head of Kinsale () is a headland near Kinsale, County Cork, Ireland. A castle has been on the headland since at least the 3rd century, with the current iteration built in 1223. An early lighthouse was established here in the 17th century by Robert Reading. The area is the nearest point of land to where the was sunk in 1915, from the site of the sinking. Currently, access to the Old Head is restricted as it is on the site of a private golf course, which has proven to be controversial. Castle The Old Head Castle is made up of a long wall with several towers along it, which closes off the headland of the Old Head from the rest of the mainland. It is reported to have been built around the 3rd century AD by the Irish chieftain Cearmna. It was originally named Dún Cearmna (Cearmna's fort). The land was given to Milo de Cogan by King Henry II. Following de Cogan's death, ownership passed to his son Richard, whose daughter married Milo de Courcy. De Courcy built a new castle around 1223. Consequently, the castle is sometimes called De Courcy Castle. In the 16th century, ownership of the castle passed to Owen MacCarthy, seizing it from the de Courcys. The English regained control of the castle in 1600, ahead of the Spanish invasion of Kinsale. Lighthouse The Old Head has hosted "lighthouses" for millennia, with references to a beacon of light being maintained on the headland dating back to pre-Christian Ireland. On 13 November 1665 Charles II granted letters patent to Sir Robert Reading to construct six lighthouses around the coast of Ireland. One of these was established on the Old Head of Kinsale, and constituted the first lighthouse on the peninsula as would be recognised as such today. The lighthouse constituted a brazier on the roof of a cottage. There had been earlier beacons, but this was the first proper building which is still extant. Some time after 1683 the light was discontinued, and a petition presented to the House of Commons for its reinstatement. In 1804 the Revenue Commissioners replaced the brazier with a temporary lantern lit by oil lamps. Eight years later it was recommended that the temporary light be replaced by a permanent tower lighthouse with keepers' cottages at its base. The new light opened on 16 May 1814. This tower was