MACROOM

macroom, a market town in the western part of county cork, ireland, on the river sullane, an affluent of the lee, 241⁄2 m. w. of cork by the cork & macroom railway, of which it is the terminus. pop. (1901), 3016. besides a fine roman catholic church, a court house and barracks, macroom possesses a modernized castle, which is said to have been founded by king john, though it is more probably attributable to norman invaders. it was besieged more than once in the 17th century, and is said to have been the birthplace of admiral sir william penn, whose more famous son founded pennsylvania. here some rebels of 1798 were executed and their heads exhibited on the spikes of the castle gate. macroom has trade in corn-milling, leather-work and dairy produce, and is a good centre for salmon and trout fishing. it is governed by an urban district council.