One of the earliest references to Carrignamuck is contained within an Elizabethan fiant of 1573, when a pardon was granted to Donald m'Teig M'Cartie of Carignymucke.

[2] The OS name book (c. 1840), in addition to mentioning the 'ruins, house and demesne of Dripsey Castle' describes Carraig na Muc as 'bounded on the north and east by the Dripsey River, on the south by Kilgobinet and Dereen townlands and in the Barony of East Muskerry', and mainly being 'under cultivation'.

The accompanying terrier states that 'on Carrignamucke stands a Castle and a Mill' naming the proprietor as Cormack McCallaghane Carthy who held 574 acres.

The majority of sources, such as O'Murchú (1991) [7] contend Carrignamuck derives from Carraig na Muc meaning 'rock of the pigs'.

O'Donoghue (1986) holds Carrig na Muc as deriving its name 'from a pass in the nearby Dripsey River where it was customary to kill pigs which provided supplies of bacon for the castle ... while the Lord of Muskerry lived at Blarney, his Tanist always held Carrignamuck'.