Castles of Ireland

Fairytale Castles of Ireland

Towers on lakes, castles on islands and a Gothic Revival house with its own walled garden: the most storybook buildings in Ireland.

What makes a castle look like something from a fairytale? Water helps, towers help, and a setting that makes you stop the car. These eight fairytale castles of Ireland are the ones that turn up on postcards and in other people’s photographs, and each has a real story behind the pretty picture. Where we mention opening arrangements, they come from the official site or managing body; check before you go.

Kylemore Abbey, County Galway

A Gothic Revival house on the shore of a lake in Connemara, backed by mountainside. Mitchell Henry, a doctor and later MP for Galway, had it built from 1867 to a design by James Franklin Fuller, and it was completed around 1868. Since 1920 it has been home to Benedictine nuns, who came from Ypres in Belgium after fleeing the First World War. The Victorian walled garden, laid out in 1870, was fully restored from 1995 and is the other reason to go. It is open to the public as a visitor attraction.

Cahir Castle, County Tipperary

Heritage Ireland calls it “a defensive powerhouse of the thirteenth century” and one of the largest and best-preserved castles in Ireland. It sits on a rocky island in the River Suir, and its Butler lords believed it nearly impregnable until the Earl of Essex took it in 1599 with heavy artillery. It has been a film location, and visitors get an audio-visual show, an exhibition and guided tours. The castle is run by the OPW and is open most of the year.

Blarney Castle, County Cork

The tower you see was rebuilt in 1446 by Cormac Láidir MacCarthy, and the Blarney Stone, said to confer eloquence on those who kiss it, sits among the battlements. The grounds are the surprise: woodland paths with a Druid’s Circle, Witch’s Cave and Wishing Steps, and a poison garden. It has been in the Colthurst family for generations, so use its own website for tickets.

Bunratty Castle, County Clare

A large tower house by the road between Limerick and Ennis, in the hands of the O’Briens (later Earls of Thomond) from around 1500. Viscount Gort bought and restored it in 1956 and it opened to the public in 1960. It is a National Monument, and since 2023 it has been owned by Clare County Council, so look for current arrangements through the council or the official Bunratty pages.

Ross Castle, County Kerry

A 15th-century tower on the shore of Lough Leane, about 2 km from Killarney, thought to be the work of the O’Donoghue Mór chieftains. It was the last place in Munster to hold out against Cromwell, and according to local tradition surrendered only when a boat was launched on the lake, fulfilling a prophecy that it would fall to a ship. Local legend also says that O’Donoghue sleeps beneath the lake and rides out on a white horse each May morning every seven years. Interior access is by guided tour only, with a steep approach; Heritage Ireland lists the details.

Johnstown Castle, County Wexford

A Gothic Revival castle on a 150-acre estate about 5.5 km south-west of Wexford town, designed by Daniel Robertson and built between 1836 and 1872 on the foundations of an earlier Norman tower house. The Grogan family gave the estate to the State in the 1940s, and the Irish Heritage Trust refurbished the castle and opened it to the public in 2019. The grounds have lakes, a terrace with statues and rhododendrons, plus the Irish Agricultural Museum in the former stable yard.

Dunguaire Castle, County Galway

A 16th-century tower on the south-east shore of Galway Bay at Kinvara, said to have been built by the Hynes clan, and the setting for a story about King Guaire and St Colman. It is one of the most photographed towers in the west. Wikipedia reports that it has been closed to visitors since 2023, so check its current status before you plan a visit around it.

Rock of Cashel, County Tipperary

Strictly a medieval church complex rather than a castle, but nothing in Ireland looks more like a fairytale skyline. A limestone outcrop in the Golden Vale, it was a seat of the kings of Munster, and Brian Boru was crowned King of Munster here. Cormac’s Chapel holds the only surviving Romanesque frescoes in Ireland. Heritage Ireland notes the exposed site can close at short notice in bad weather.

Back to Ardfinnan

The fairytale tour of Tipperary starts close to home. Ardfinnan, with its Norman castle built by Prince John in 1185 above the Suir, is about 10 km (6 miles) by road south of Cahir and roughly 26 km from Cashel. It is a private residence and not open to the public, but it is worth seeing from the village bridge on the way between the two. For a broader list that includes Norman giants and tower houses, read our guide to the best castles in Ireland.