athenry castle

Richard de Burgo granted a charter to Meiler de Bermingham in 1235 and shortly afterwards de Bermingham started building his castle at Athenry. It was probably completed by 1250 and consists of a three storey tower surrounded by the remains of a strong outer wall. Among the buildings was a Dominican friary, also built by Meiler, which is now in ruins.
The basement of the tower has a vault carried by three pillars. The door is on the first floor, though the steps leading to it are modern; the doorway is well preserved and has capitals which are reminiscent of Irish Romanesque decoration. Three trefoil-headed windows remain on the first floor, and the high pitch of the gable is unusual in such an early castle. One of the rounded corner turrets of the enclosing wall is original, but much of the wall has been restored.
Athenry is one of the best-known medieval walled towns in Ireland. Originally surrounded by a wide, water filled moat and guarded by a series of cirucular towers, which were first built in about 1310, they enclosed an area bigger than that contained inside the walls of Galway.
Guided tours of the castle are available on request and there's access to the ground floor of the castle for people with disabilities.