Legend of Cormac Tadhg McCarthy

In 1601, Cormac Tadhg McCarthy of Carrickphouka Castle was made High Sheriff of Cork by the English with the instructions to hunt down all Irish rebels. He was a source of distress to the Irish, since he always in a foul temper and looked a bit atrocious; the English, working to subdue the Irish, thought he was just right. His main opponent was the chieftain James Fitzgerald, who was regarded as a traitor by the authorities in Dublin, and to prove his loyalty to the English also in order to capture him, Cormac invited him to a feast in Carrickphouka on the pretence of making peace.

During the course of the banquet, he had Fitzgerald killed, but in order to assure the English of his loyalty and to impress them, he went slightly further. It is said that he lapped up the spilled blood and ate the raw flesh of the fallen chieftain, much to the horror and disgust of the English who were present. In defence of these horrific actions, the McCarthy clan claimed that Cormac had in fact been possessed by a spirit that had risen out of the rock upon which his castle was built. (Carrickphouka means “the rock of the phouka”—phouka or pooka being a malevolent and dark spirit or demon). 

 

After Cormac's death, his body began to haunt his former home as vampire at Carrickphouka Castle. The body is said to attack nearby people around the ruins of the castle, drinking their blood. Even today, tales still exist of alleged sightings of him in and around the castle, long after his death. 

 

Today Carrickphouka Castle is simply a ruin—it was destroyed during the Williamite Wars of 1690-91, but local people still stay away from it after dark.

Sources:
A Child's Eye View of Vampires by Alan Leddon

Encyclopedia of the Undead: "A Field Guide to the Creatures That Cannot Rest In Peace" by Dr. Bob Curran

Pic Source:
Real Vampires, Nights Stalkers and Creatures From The Dark Side by Brad Steiger page 13