castles historical ireland

Trim Castle was founded by Hugh De Lacy, who was granted the kingdom of Meath. In 1173 the work commenced on the castle. Because Trim was close to the Pale, yet outside it, it was embroiled between the native Irish and the settlers. De Lacy left the castle in the hands of Hugh Tyrell, but Roderick O'Connor, King of Connaught marched in to Trim village. Tyrell set fire to the castle rather than have O'Connor destroy it.

The castle was eventually finished in 1220, by the Peppard Brother...

Ardglass contains more medieval tower-houses than any other town in Ireland, reflecting its importance as Ulster's busiest port in the 15th century. Jordan's Castle was probably built in the 15th century and, like others of its kind, was a fortified family residence, owned, in this instance, by the Jordan family. Simon Jordan is celebrated for having defended the castle for three years during the Tyrone Rebellion until relieved by the Lord Deputy, Mountjoy, in 1601. Jordan's Castle is a good...

The castle consists of a square central courtyard surrounded by walls which are eight feet thick and twenty feet high, with square towers projecting from three sides. On the fourth side is the gate with a pointed arch and a groove for the portcullis. The interior of the castle is bare, but originally there were two-storey structures built up against the inside walls. However, few traces of these remain, and local tradition explains this by saying that the castle was never finished. There is...

One of a series of five fortifications, it was originally owned by the O'Kynes but eventually passed from one Sir Richard O'Donnell to Sir Benjamin Guinness, and thus became part of the great Guinness estates.

Architecturally, this castle has some interesting doorways. One enters this castle by entering the demesne via the Red Gate which is 1.5km east of Clonbur village....

The castle was first built about 1204 by King John of England as a stronghold to protect against the Irish and to safe-keep treasure. It was the headquaters of the English government in Ireland for many centuries until it was won back by the Irish Free State in 1922.
Famous accomplishments to take place here include the night that Michael Collins broke into the castle during the Black and Tan War to see if he could find if the British had any information about him. And in 1907 the Irish...

King John’s Castle, also referred to as Limerick Castle is so called because it was built for King John in 1210 and was the centre of Norman authority in the area. This fine example of Norman Architecture now holds an interpretive centre that includes audiovisuals, models, and an exposed archaeological dig, showing how the information used was gained....

Three storeys high, it consists of a central square tower with stout rounded towers at each corner, all of them well endowed with gun-loops. The exterior walls have a string-course above each floor, and there is an arch at the top of the south wall of the central tower. There are fireplaces in the first and second floors and, as that in the first floor is larger, were may presume that the main living quarters for the family were on the first floor. Note the small head carved on a stone under...

Blossom Gate. This is the only gate remaining from the medieval town wall of Kilmallock.
The Collegiate Church. The Round Tower of this church may have originally been part of an earlier monastery. The probably 13th century church has three aisles, a chancel and it’s south wall contains a 13th century door. It’s use as by the Church of Ireland had a bearing on the history of the Earls of Desmond; being the place where the ‘Sugan’ Earl surrendered in 1600 and where the 15th Earl attended a...

O'Doherty's Keep was originally a small Norman castle but it became an important landmark during the nine years war, when Hugh "Boy" O'Doherty renovated it in 1602. O'Doherty's Keep was intended for use by the Spaniards who were supposed to land on the Inishowen peninsula to assist the Irish rebels against Queen Elizabeth. Unfortunately the Spanish arrived in the wrong part of the country. O'Doherty's Keep was shortly burned by the English. It is uncertain whether it was renovated during th...

The Blarney Stone may have imparted the gift of eloquence but it did not necessarily bring good fortune. The MacCarthys forfeited their castle in the Williamite War and it was later acquired by the St. John Jefferyes family. In the 18th century James St. John Jefferys built a fanciful Georgian Gothic mansion attached to the old castle. But the house burned down and was never rebuilt.

Instead in 1874 a Scottish baronial mansion was built nearby overlooking Blarney Lake. The house i...