Thoor Ballylee is a restored tower house near Gort in County Galway, closely associated with the poet W.B. Yeats. Set beside the Cloon River, the building became both a family home and an enduring part of Yeats’s literary imagination.
Yeats and the tower
Yeats bought the fifteenth-century tower in 1916 and restored it with his wife, George. The family used it as a summer home during the 1920s. Its winding stone stair, riverside setting and sense of history helped inspire work associated with collections including The Tower and The Winding Stair and Other Poems.
The building is also known as Ballylee Castle and Yeats’s Tower. Its present name uses the Irish word thoor, meaning tower.
What visitors can experience
The restored interior preserves the tower’s distinctive spiral stair and rooms connected with Yeats. Exhibitions and displays explore his life, writing and relationship with the surrounding landscape. The riverside setting also links Thoor Ballylee with nearby places important to the Irish Literary Revival.
Planning a visit
Thoor Ballylee operates seasonally, and access can be affected by local conditions. Check the official Thoor Ballylee website for current opening information before making a special journey.
If you are considering a wider cultural journey, explore our private tours of Ireland. This planning link does not mean that Thoor Ballylee is included in a particular itinerary.
