castles historical ireland

Ballindooley Castle, on the Headford road out from Galway, has been fully restored to its former glory....

Located on the River Lee, it has a long history associated with it.
Dating originally to the reign of James I, the castle was destroyed by the fire in 1827 and rebuilt by the Pain Brothers in 1830.

The coat of arms of the castle depicts the castle as one of the strongholds protecting the harbour. The area is the host of some fine views, and the area has a nice riverside walk from the Atlantic pond eastwards.

The castle is now an observatory with an...

This is a 15th or 16th century castle built by the Burnchurch branch of the FitzGerald family. It is 6 storeys high, and has an unusually large number of passages and chambers inside the walls. There is a 'secret chamber' off the 4th floor and a fireplace and round chimney (the latter possibly a later addition) on the top floor. A walled courtyard was originally attached to the castle, and of this the 41 foot high circular turret near the castle still remains. The castle was last occupied in...

Dunamon Castle stands on raised ground overlooking the River Suck and is still inhabited. The site is referred to in the Annals of the Four Masters in 1154 as the seat of the O'Finaghtys, who owned all the land for miles around. The castle passed into the hands of the Burkes and in 1656 was bought by Robert King of Rickingham, one of Cromwell's henchmen, for £133.

In 1668 King's son, Lord Kingston, leased the castle to Thomas Caulfield and among the most colourful of the Caulfields was...

Opposite the park is Cabra Castle, 19th century seat of the Pratts, and now a hotel.
The original Cabra Castle was an early 18th century Palladian villa and when it was destroyed, Colonel Joseph Pratt bought the adjoining property, Cormey Castle in the early 19th century and established a new seat for his family.

The original house was used as a ballroom until it was destroyed by fire in the 1950's.
The castle grounds accommodate a picturesque 9 hole golf course which is open to...

Its name - Narrow Water - shows that its site was strategically chosen to guard the narrow stretch of the river which provided Newry with access to the sea. The tower was built by John Sancky around 1560, but by 1608 it had come into the possession of Sir Arthur Magennis, and is known to have been used for industrial purposes in the 18th century. Each of the tower's three floors consists of a single room, and there is a stone vault above the first floor. The tower stands in an irregularly sh...

History is built layer upon layer at Lismore which means 'great fort' in Irish. Prince John built the original castle there in 1185. The Bishops of Lismore Built an episcopal palace on its ruins and the estate was granted for a time to Walter Raleigh for a rent of IR12 p.a. He sold the property to Richard Boyle, later 1st Earl of Cork, who rebuilt the castle, parts of which are incorporated in the present castle built in the mid-19th century by the 6th Duke of Devonshire. The 1st Earl of Cork...

King John's Castle was built between 1200 and 1210 and was repaired and extended many times in the following centuries. The visitor centre at the castle contains an imaginative historical exhibition which tells the story of the castle. Archaeological excavations have revealed Pre-Norman settlements and evidence from the traumatic siege of 1642.

The courtyard and castle display some of the trades and traditions of the 16th century with the aid of costumed characters. The castle offers pan...

Nenagh Castle
Nenagh Castle was built by Theobold Walter, a nephew of Thomas a Becket, the martyr. It became a residence of the Butler family, until they moved to Gowran, Kilkenny in the 14th century. It fell into the hands of the MacIlbrien family, until 1533 when Sir Piers Butler returned to reclaim it. But in 1548, the O'Carroll with his supporters, burned it. The Butlers did eventually regain their position as owners, but the castle was given to Lady Dingwall.

It w...

An example of a seventeenth-century market town. The ruins of Ballinakill Castle are of a late seventeenth-century castle built by the Dunnes (but never inhabited) on the site of one destroyed by Cromwellian troops under Fairfax. The configuration of streets around the large rectangular square is eighteenth century.

The town's entrance from Abbeyleix is marked by two trees known as Toll Trees where a toll was paid by visitors to the town. The town had important fairs, a brewery, wo...