Some of the earliest evidence for the existence of a town or "vill" in the vicinity of Castlemartyr is to be found in the Pipe Roll of Cloyne.
This document lists all lands held by the feudal Bishop of Cloyne and the valuations put on those lands.

Ballyoughtera, now the site of a ruin and graveyard, had likely originally been a monastic settlement which under Norman influence and through their settlement became the focal point for a "ville" or feudal village.

There had been two adjoining medieval parishes, Cahirultan and Ballyoughtera and both are known to have been in existence by 1300 at least, when Ballyoughtera was valued at 5 marks and Cahairultan at 3 marks.
A reference dated 1364 records that "Richard Kerdyf holds the land of the whole Ville of Martyre".
A ville implied a nearby mill where tenant farmers could grind their corn, and a castle, providing those tenants with protection.
In this case the castle was Castlemartyr Castle, which was built (on the site of an earlier fortification) for James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond after his appointment as Seneschal of Imokilly in 1420.

Castlemartyr was known as "Leperstown" in ancient times because of the Leper House that is said to have existed near Ballyoughtera, itself said by Smith to have become a village of some note during the Middle Ages.
Another historian, Lewis, states that Ballyoughtera Church was built in 1549, only to be destroyed during the conflict of 1641–1642.
But there is evidence to suggest that the Church was already in ruins before 1641 (probably as early as 1615) and that it was built before 1539, with a Chancel being added on later, possibly to cope with an expanding population in and around the village.
Some of the earliest evidence for the existence of a town or "vill" in the vicinity of Castlemartyr is to be found in the Pipe Roll of Cloyne. This document lists all lands held by the feudal Bishop of Cloyne and the valuations put on those lands.
Ballyoughtera, now the site of a ruin and graveyard, had likely originally been a monastic settlement which under Norman influence and through their settlement became the focal point for a "ville" or feudal village.
There had been two adjoining medieval parishes, Cahirultan and Ballyoughtera and both are known to have been in existence by 1300 at least, when Ballyoughtera was valued at 5 marks and Cahairultan at 3 marks. A reference dated 1364 records that "Richard Kerdyf holds the land of the whole Ville of Martyre". A ville implied a nearby mill where tenant farmers could grind their corn, and a castle, providing those tenants with protection. In this case the castle was Castlemartyr Castle, which was built (on the site of an earlier fortification) for James FitzGerald, 6th Earl of Desmond after his appointment as Seneschal of Imokilly in 1420.
Castlemartyr was known as "Leperstown" in ancient times because of the Leper House that is said to have existed near Ballyoughtera, itself said by Smith to have become a village of some note during the Middle Ages. Another historian, Lewis, states that Ballyoughtera Church was built in 1549, only to be destroyed during the conflict of 1641–1642. But there is evidence to suggest that the Church was already in ruins before 1641 (probably as early as 1615) and that it was built before 1539, with a Chancel being added on later, possibly to cope with an expanding population in and around the village.
Castlemartyr