Loughside, mid-way up the western shore is Sketrick Castle. This large, four storey tower house guarded the causeway to Sketrick Island and was actively involved in warfare in the 16th century. The immediacy and need for the defence is vitally evident in this watery landscape....
This 15th-century castle is the mecca of first-time visitors to Ireland, who hope to win the gift of eloquence by kissing the Blarney Stone. The magnificent keep, with Walls 85ft high and 12ft thick at the base, was built in 1446 by Cormac MacCarthy, and...
The Scottish National Trust’s flagship property, magnificent Culzean is one of the most impressive of Scotland’s great stately homes. The entrance to Culzean is a converted viaduct, and on approach the Castle appears like a mirage, floating into view. Designed by Robert Adam, who was...
Once a freebooters’ stronghold, on a tongue of land that projects into Sheep Haven, Doe Castle dates from the early 15th century. Its name is an anglicised version of the Irish word ‘tuath’, meaning district or territory. In the 1440s it fell into the hands...
South-West of this seaside town is the stately, greystone Malahide Castle, home of the Talbot family from 1185 to 1973, when the last Lord Talbot de Malahide died. Its core is 14th century, though the turrets and battlements are later additions. Inside are rooms furnished...
Rising from an Island is Lough Oughter is a massive , circular stone tower , 59ft high. The lower storey , with walls 6ft thick , was built in the 13th century on an existing crannog , or artificial island , which had natural rock...
The most romantic ruin in Louth , Castle Roche is built on a pinnacle of rock , which commands spectacular views of the countryside. It has a large D-shaped curtain of castellated walls and a fine twin-towered gatehouse , around uneven , grassed-over floors. It...
Just west of Ballylongford is the stronghold that was once the seat of the O’Connors of Kerry , originally built in 1490 by the chieftain Conor O’Connor. The castle measures 60ft by 30ft , with walls 8ft thick and a little over 80ft high –...
This inland county is one of the three Ulster counties in the Republic of Ireland...