castles historical ireland

This beautiful park is wovan around the lake and islands of Lough Oughter. A number of marked trails range in length from 1.5km to 2.8km, each offering enchanted views and a diversity of habitat for the wild fauna.

Norway and Sitka spruce are the main tree species with a considerable amount of mixed woodland, including ash, oak, birch, sycamore, beech and alder. Stoat, badger, fox, grey squirrrel, hedgehog and rabbit are among the variety of fauna which can be spotted here.

The t...

Dunboy Castle beside the remains of the older O'Sullivan Bere Castle, destroyed in a siege in 1602, stand the impressive ruins of a vast 19th century castle in a bewildering mixture of styles, including french chateaux and Italian villa.

The castle was built by the Puxley family, landlords until 1921, who made their fortune from the copper mines in Allihies.
Dunboy woods are open to the public with picnic areas and walks....

The kernel of the castle is a stout mid-13th century keep, almost square in plan and with walls more than 6 feet thick. The upper floors were originally made of wood, and the holes for the massive beams supporting them are still visible in the walls.

The keep is protected by an irregularly shaped curtain wall, and the corners of the stretch overlooking the river are further fortified by round turrets.

On the landward side, the gate-house of the 13th century castle was incorpor...

The original keep was 3 storeys high and was square in shape with stout three-quarter round towers at the corners, but only the eastern half still stands, with its two corner towers and the connecting wall. The entrance was through a door on the first floor of the north side. The topmost storey of the north-western tower dates back to the 15th-16th century.
Although the castle is only first mentioned in 1231, it was probably built by William the Marshall or by his son not long after...

Anglo-Norman motte-and-bailey earthwork castle with added stone tower. Fine views from top of the mound. Free access always. Clough village, at junction of A24 and A25....

The mightiest of the castles along the County Down coast, Dundrum was probably built by John de Courcy in the last decades of the 12th century. It is first mentioned in the historical records when it was unsuccessfully besieged in 1205, though taken by King John five years later. The upper of the two wards, on the top of the commanding hiss, is dominated by a tall, round keep or donjon with immensely thick walls, from the top of which a splendid view may be had over the sea and many parts of s...

Rathumney is a hall-castle of a type common in the 13th and 14th centuries. The centre of the building was occupied by a hall, two storeys high, off which opened living rooms with fireplaces.

There is a tower at the south-eastern corner of the castle. Practically all the decorated stonework has been removed, but gently rounded arches still span the larger door and window openings. Little is known of the history of the castle other than that it was probably built by the Prendergasts....

This castle was once the club-house of Monkstown Golf-club, from 1908 to 1971.  At the moment the castle is under reconstruction and will not be finished until April 2009!

This castle was built by Anastasia Archdeacon, nee Gould, about 1636.
She built it while her husband was away at sea, and having deducted the cost of the mason's board and lodgings from the total cost, she found she had only paid 4d for the whole castle.

It consists of a...

Early Norman Motte and nearby castle ruins....

The castle is said to have been built in 1181 by Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath, for his brother-in-law, Sir Gilbert de Nugent, who resided in it for some time before building the neighbouring castle of Clonyn. But the castle was probably built in the early 13th century.

It was originally square in plan with four rounded turrets at the corner but only the western half of the castle remains, with two of the rounded turrets. The lower portion is now used as a shop store; the upper portion...