If you find yourself in this area on any tours of Ireland here are a few highlights to see. The first recommendation is the ruins of Nenagh Castle. The castle served as the main seat of the Butler family until 1391. After that they moved to Gowran ,...
There has been a castle on this site since the 12th century. What stands today is very complete and well worth a visit on any tours of Ireland. The castle is one of the most complete in Ireland. It has an interesting history. Prince (later King) John resided in...
This is situated in County Galway and worth a stop if you are passing through on tours of Ireland. It is believed to have been continuously inhabited since the reign of King John. The history was as violent as many other castles in Ireland throughout the 15th,...
The county of Carlow was made “shire-ground” by King John. The town is in the fertile, limestone valley of the River Barrow. This river was famous separating the English from the Irish clans. Here, where a tributary, joins the Barrow River, a four angled lake is formed. It’s worth...
Five irregularly spaced drum towers linked by massive walls are all that remain of the castle that King John built in the early 13th century to keep the peace in Thomond (as the area was then called) between the Norman settlers and the O’Brien clan,...
The traditional prophecy, attributed to St. Columbia, that “a stranger mounted on a white horse and bearing a shield of painted birds shall conquer Ulster” appeared to be fulfilled when John de Courcy headed the Norman invasion of Ulster in 1177. Gradually the Anglo-Norman overlords...
Five irregularly spaced drum towers linked by massive walls are all that remain of the castle that King John built early 13th century to keep the peace in Thomond (as the area was then called) between the Norman settlers and the O’Brien clan, Kings and...