One of the first things that comes to mind when we talk about Ireland is, of course, the beautiful castles it is known for. Of course, the country has much more to offer, but here we give you an overview of the top 10 castles in Ireland.
1. Monea Castle, County Fermanagh
Built by Malcolm Hamilton and completed in 1618, this castle is characterized by its round towers. The castle fell into Irish hands in 1641 and was occupied by Gustavus Hamilton, governor of Enniskillen, in 1688. It was burned and abandoned in the 18th century.
2. Blarney Castle, County Cork
One of the most famous castles in Ireland, home to the famous 'Blarney Stone'. According to legend, the gift of great eloquence.
3. Carrickfergus Castle, County Antrim
This Norman fortress is one of Northern Ireland's most amazing castles with a fantastic location on the shores of Belfast Lough. In the 800 years of its history, Carrickfergus Castle was besieged by the Scots, Irish, British and French. During World War II it was used as an air raid shelter.
4. Classiebawn Castle, County Sligo
Classiebawn Castle is instantly recognizable by its conical tower. Construction of the castle was begun by the British statesman Sir Henry Tempel, the third Viscount Parmerston, in the mid-nineteenth century. Classiebawn is privately owned but well worth a stop and just take a picture.
5. Enniskillen Castle, County Fermanagh
The imposing Enniskillen Castle is the former home of the Maguire clan, important local leaders who owned their own fleet of 1,500 ships to patrol the waters of Upper and Lower Lough Erne. It now houses the Fermanagh County Museum and the Inniskillings Museum.
6. Kilkenny Castle, Kilkenny
The famous Norman castle town of Kilkenny hosted the Butlers of Ormonde for nearly five centuries, until in 1967 the 6th Marchioness of Ormonde decided to sell it to the City of Kilkenny for just £50!
7. Malahide Castle, County Dublin Dating back to the 12th century, Malahide Castle and Gardens occupies 100 acres of the picturesque village of Malahide, on the beautiful coast north of Dublin. The castle, which has played an important role in the history of medieval Ireland, has been owned by the influential Talbot family for 800 years.
8. Trim Castle, County Meath Dating back to the twelfth century, the imposing Trim Castle is the largest Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland and was built on an earlier wooden structure. It is also known as one of the locations of the famous movie Braveheart with Mel Gibson.
9. Dunguaire Castle, County Galway
The castle is near the village of Kinvara, in the Burren, and dominated picturesque Galway Bay for centuries. Dunguaire Castle was built in 1520 by the O'Hynes clan. In the 17th century it passed into the hands of Martin's Galway where it remained in their ownership until the last century. Then it was bought and restored by Oliver St. John Gogarty, a famous Irish surgeon and poet and friend of WB Yeats, who uses it as the meeting place for the Celtic literary revival.
10. Dunluce Castle, County Antrim
The Dunluce Castle in County Antrim looks straight out of the pages of a fantasy novel. It seems that the inhabitants were terrified by the daring position of this castle, perched on a bluff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. A well-founded fear since a storm in 1639 has caused a partial collapse in the sea.
