Castle sights in Ireland
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Blarney Castle
Dating from 1446, Blarney Castle is a tower house built on solid limestone in wonderful grounds that are ideal for a picnic. Someone will soon talk you into kissing the Blarney Stone, a custom invented fairly recently, though Blarney's association with the gift of the gab goes back a long time.
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Belfast Castle
Built in 1870 for the third Marquess of Donegall, in the Scottish Baronial style made fashionable by Queen Victoria's then recently built Balmoral, the multi-turreted pomp of Belfast Castle commands the southeastern slopes of Cave Hill. It was presented to the City of Belfast in 1934.
Extensive renovation between 1978 and 1988 has left the interior comfortably modern rather than intriguingly antique, and the castle is now a popular venue for wedding receptions. Upstairs is the Cave Hill Visitor Centre with a few displays on the folklore, history, archaeology and natural history of the park. Downstairs is the Cellar Restaurant and a small antiques shop.
Legend has it that th…
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Howth Castle
Most of the town backs onto the extensive grounds of Howth Castle, built in 1564 but much changed over the years, most recently in 1910 when Sir Edwin Lutyens gave it a modernist make-over. Today the castle is divided into four very posh and private residences. The original estate was acquired in 1177 by the Norman noble Sir Almeric Tristram, who changed his surname to St Lawrence after winning a battle at the behest (or so he believed) of his favourite saint. The family has owned the land ever since, though the unbroken chain of male succession came to an end in 1909.
On the grounds are the ruins of the 16th-century Corr Castle and an ancient dolmen (tomb chamber or porta…
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Talbot Castle
Part of the abbey was converted in 1415 into a fine manor house by Sir John Talbot, then viceroy of Ireland; it came to be known as Talbot Castle. The Talbot coat of arms can be seen on the northern wall. Talbot went to war in France, where in 1429 he was defeated at Orleans by none other than Joan of Arc. He was taken prisoner, released and went on fighting the French until 1453.
He was known as 'the scourge of France' or 'the whip of the French', and Shakespeare wrote of this notorious man in Henry VI: 'Is this the Talbot so much feared abroad/That with his name the mothers still their babes?'. Talbot Castle was owned in the early 18th century by Esther 'Stella' Johnson…
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Aughnanure Castle
Built around 1500, this bleak fortress was home to the 'Fighting O'Flahertys', who controlled the region for hundreds of years after they fought off the Normans. The six-storey tower house stands on a rocky outcrop overlooking Lough Corrib and has been extensively restored. Surrounding the castle are the remains of an unusual double bawn (area surrounded by walls outside the main castle, acting as a defence and a place to keep cattle in times of trouble), and underneath the castle the lake washes through a number of natural caverns and caves.
Aughnanure Castle is situated 3km east of Oughterard, off the main Galway road (N59).
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Dublin Castle
The stronghold of British power in Ireland for 700 years, Dublin Castle is mostly an 18th-century creation built on Norman and Viking foundations. Of the 13th-century Anglo-Norman fortress built on the site, only the record tower remains. Once the official residence of the British viceroys in Ireland and now used by the Irish Government, a tour will appeal to history and architecture buffs. On Sunday and holidays free tours run every 30 minutes. Please note that the State Apartments may be closed at short notice – call ahead to check.
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Desmond Castle
Kinsale's roots with the old wine trade are on display at this early 16th-century fortified house that was occupied by the Spanish in 1601. Since then it has served as a customs house, as a prison for French and American captives and as a workhouse during the Famine. There are lively exhibits detailing its history and a small wine museumthat tells the story of the Irish wine-trading families, including names like Hennessy (of brandy fame), who fled to France because of British rule.
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Rathfarnham Castle
Less castle and more fortified house, this was originally built by Adam Loftus, the archbishop of Dublin, around 1583 and is most interesting as a restoration in progress. Several of the rooms – including 18th-century interiors by William Chambers – have been returned to their original splendour, while others are clearly struggling under the ravages of time. The guides have an infectious enthusiasm for the project. It’s 6km south of the city centre.
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Adare Castle
Dating back to around 1200, this picturesque feudal ruin saw rough usage until it was finally wrecked for good by Cromwell's troops in 1657. By then it had already lost its strategic importance. Restoration work is ongoing; look for the ruined great hall with its early 13th-century windows.
Book tours through the Heritage Centre. When tours aren't on, you can view the castle from the busy main road, or more peacefully from the riverside footpath or the grounds of the Augustinian priory.
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Hillsborough Castle
The town's main attraction is this rambling, two-storey late-Georgian mansion built in 1797 for Wills Hill, the first Marquess of Downshire, and extensively remodelled in the 1830s and '40s. The guided tour takes in the state drawing room and dining rooms, and the Lady Grey Room where UK prime minister Tony Blair and US president George W Bush had talks on Iraq in 2003.
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Trim Castle
This remarkably preserved edifice was Ireland's largest Anglo-Norman fortification and is proof of Trim's medieval importance. Hugh de Lacy founded Trim Castle in 1173, but Rory O'Connor, said to have been the last high king of Ireland, destroyed this motte and bailey within a year. The building you see today was begun around 1200 and has hardly been modified since.
Throughout Anglo-Norman times the castle occupied a strategic position on the western edge of the Pale, the area where the Anglo-Normans ruled supreme; beyond Trim was the volatile country where Irish chieftains and lords fought with their Norman rivals and vied for position, power and terrain. By the 16th cent…
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Carrickfergus Castle
The central keep of Ireland's first and finest Norman fortress was built by John de Courcy soon after his 1177 invasion of Ulster. The massive walls of the outer ward were completed in 1242, while the red-brick gun ports were added in the 16th century. The keep houses a museum and the site is dotted with life-size figures illustrating the castle's history.
The castle overlooks the harbour where William of Orange landed on 14 June 1690, on his way to the Battle of the Boyne; a blue plaque on the old harbour wall marks the site where he stepped ashore, and a bronze statue of the man himself stands on the shore nearby.
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Butler Gallery
The Butler Gallery in the basement of Kilkenny Castel is one of the country’s most important art galleries outside Dublin. Small exhibitions featuring the work of contemporary artists are held throughout the year. Also in the basement, the castle kitchen houses a popular summertime cafe. You can head directly to either the Butler Gallery or the cafe without paying the tour admission price.
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Listowel Castle
Behind the Kerry Literary & Cultural Centre, this 12th-century castle was once the stronghold of the Fitzmaurices, the Anglo-Norman lords of Kerry. It was the last castle in Ireland to succumb to the Elizabethan attacks during the Desmond revolt. What remains of the castle has been thoroughly restored.
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King John's Castle
The massive curtain walls and towers of Limerick's showpiece castle are best viewed from the west bank of the River Shannon. The castle was built by King John of England between 1200 and 1212 on the site of an earlier fortification. It served as the military and administrative centre of the rich Shannon region.
Inside there are recreations of brutal medi- eval weapons like the trebuchet, as well as excavated Viking sites, reconstructed Norman features and other artefacts. Walk the walls and imagine you're carrying a bucket of boiling oil.
Across medieval Thomond Bridge, on the other side of the river, the Treaty Stone marks the spot on the riverbank where the Treaty of Lime…
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Birr Castle Demesne
It's easy to spend half a day exploring the attractions and gardens of Birr Castle Demesne. The castle is a private home, however, and cannot be visited. Most of the present building dates from around 1620, with alterations made in the early 19th century.
The 50-hectare castle grounds are famous for their magnificent gardens set around a large artificial lake. They hold over 1000 species of plants from all over the world; something always seems to be in bloom. Look for one of the world's tallest box hedges, planted in the 1780s and now standing 12m high, and the romantic Hornbeam cloister.
The Parsons were a remarkable family of pioneering Irish scientists, and their work i…
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Grace's Castle
Near the Confederation Hall Monument is the ramshackle Grace's Castle, originally built in 1210, but lost to the family and converted into a prison in 1568, and then in 1794 into a courthouse, which it remains today. Rebels from the 1798 Rising were executed here.
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Portaferry Castle
Portaferry's castle is a small 16th-century tower house beside the tourist information centre, which, together with the tower house in Strangford, used to control sea traffic through the Narrows.
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Slane Castle
Still the private residence of Henry Conyngham, Earl of Mountcharles, Slane Castle is best known in Ireland as the setting for massive outdoor rock concerts, such as Kings of Leon in 2011. U2's 1984 album The Unforgettable Fire was recorded here (though the castle featured on the album cover is in Moydrum in County Westmeath) and the band have returned to play several occasions in the castle grounds.
Built in 1785 in the Gothic-revival style by James Wyatt, the building was later altered by Francis Johnson for George IV's visits to Lady Conyngham. She was allegedly his mistress, and it's said the road between Dublin and Slane was built especially straight and smooth to spe…
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Stormont Castle
Near Parliament House, 19th-century Stormont Castle is, like Hillsborough in County Down, an official residence of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
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King John's Castle
Carlingford was first settled by the Vikings, and in the Middle Ages became an English stronghold under the protection of the castle, which was built on a pinnacle in the 11th to 12th centuries to control the entrance to the lough. On the western side, the entrance gateway was built to allow only one horse and rider through at a time. King John spent a couple of days here in 1210 en route to a battle with Hugh de Lacy at Carrickfergus Castle in Antrim.
Ask at the tourist office about free tours during Heritage Week in late August.
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Bunratty Castle & Folk Park
Square and hulking Bunratty Castle is only the latest of several constructions to occupy its location beside the River Ratty. Vikings founded a settlement here in the 10th century, and other occupants included the Norman Thomas de Clare in the 1270s. The present structure was put up in the early 1400s by the energetic MacNamara family, falling shortly thereafter to the O'Briens, kings of Thomond, in whose possession it remained until the 17th century.
Fully restored, the castle is loaded with 14th- to 17th-century furniture, paintings and wall hangings.
The folk park adjoins the castle. It is a reconstructed traditional Irish village with cottages, a forge and working blac…
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Malahide Castle
Despite the vicissitudes of Irish history, the Talbot family managed to keep the castle under its control from 1185 to 1976, apart from a brief Cromwellian interlude (1649–60). It's now owned by Dublin County Council. The castle is the usual hotchpotch of additions and renovations; the oldest part is a three-storey 12th-century tower house. The facade is flanked by circular towers that were tacked on in 1765.
The castle is packed with furniture and paintings; highlights are a 16th-century oak room with decorative carvings, and the medieval Great Hall, which has family portraits, a minstrel's gallery and a painting of the Battle of the Boyne. Puck, the Talbot family ghost…
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