castles historical ireland

Cullahill Castle sits atop a natural rock. The ruins include those of a 17th century stone house with intact corbels, stone lintels, and a fireplace with an oven. Richard Burke was the owner in 1654....

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

The Castle:

The first castle was built here by de Bermingham about 1225, but it was burned by the sons of the kings of Connacht in 1249, by Fichra O'Flynn in 1284 and by Rory O'Connor in 1315. The present castle was probably built after the last burning. It is a massive rectangular tower of four storeys situated on a motte with the remains of a fortifying wall around it.

The tower is bare inside, and the mullioned windows on the top floor suggest that it was partiall...

This 16th century O'Hynes castle, with six sided by windows, set on a rock on the edge of Galway Bay by the approach to Kinvara has been restored.
From mid-May to mid-September medieval banquets are held and guests are afterwards entertained with Irish music and dancing as well as the reading of extracts from writers with local connections -Yeats, Lady Gregory, Martyn and blind Raftery the poet....

Drumena is an irregularly shaped stone fort or cashel measuring 132 ft by 108 ft, and with walls 9-12 ft thick (which were partially re-built in 1925-26). The original entrance was probably on the east side, and a confused jumble of stones in the interior may once have formed the foundations of a house. Also inside the cashel is an easily accessible T-shaped souterrain which reaches a maximum height of 7 feet. The whole complex is likely to date from the Early Christian period....

The castle was built some time between 1238 and 1300 by de Staunton, one of the Anglo-Norman barons in the following of Richard de Burgo. The present remains consist of a three-storeyed tower standing in a strongly fortified bawn with one rounded corner turret. Much of the present building would appear to be of 15th century date, but it undoubtedly incorporates older fragments. The family who built it later took on the name of M'Evilly, and they held it until at least 1574.

. Some tim...

This is a fine early 16th century tower standing in a bawn. The ground and third floors are vaulted, and there are mullioned windows and a fine fireplace on the 3rd floor. The six-sided bawn is one of the best preserved in the country, and the projecting angle in the west wall, constructed so as to have a wider range of fire, is probably imitated from the star-shaped forts. Nearby are the ruins of a contemporary gatehouse.

The castle was one of three built and owned by the O'Shaughne...

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...

Athlone Castle was built in 1210 by John de Gray, Bishop of Norwich, for King John of England. From 1569-1672 it was the headquarters of the Presidents of Connacht. The Castle was occupied by Col. Richard Grace, Governor of Athlone during the first Siege of Athlone in 1690 and also played a major role in the second Siege of 1691.

In the Napoleonic era the Castle was remodelled for defence and took on much of its present appearance. The Castle served for almost 300 years as an...

A little past Coole, Gort, the road passes the entrance to Tullira Castle, the home of Edward Martyn, poet and patron of the arts.

He was instrumental in starting the Dublin School of Stained Glass, some early and remarkable examples of which can be seen in nearby Labane church....