The aim of this list is to give to the potential visitor a flavour of the variety of castles to be found in Ireland; in no way is it a complete listing of the many sites which might be included. Other lists exist, of State Care monuments and that of Salter (1993). No one knows how many castles either survive or once existed in Ireland, although Leask guessed at about 3,000. About 350 mottes survive, or are known to have been destroyed, while the great majority of the rest are (or were) tower-houses. Both because of the numbers, and because of their similarity to each other, I have been ruthlessly selective with these types. For mottes, I have chosen sites which are accessible, mostly those in State Care. For tower-houses, I have tried to select a large and a small example from several parts of the island, to try and embrace the variety of the whole. Those castles not in State Care are marked with an asterisk; the numbers in bold after the site names refer to illustrations.
ADARE Co. Limerick R472466 (22-4)
Perhaps originally the town was beside the castle and the parish church. Consists of two enclosures: the outer with two halls (c. 1200 and 13 th cent.) and a small gate tower. The inner one may be late medieval, like the upper parts of the tower (Leask’s ‘keep’).
Dunraven, 1865; Rynne, 1961; Sweetman, 1980; Barry, 1983, 307
ASKEATON Co. Limerick R340502 (104-5, 108-12)
Inner enclosure for the Earl of Desmond’s household dominated by the 15th-cent. chamber tower. The outer enclosure contains the fine, first-floor great hall rebuilt in the 15th cent, over the 13th-cent. one.
Nuttall, 1988
ATHCLARE Co. Louth O054860
Tower-house with the roof-line visible of a contemporary attached hall.
ATHENRY Co. Galway M506209 (48, 85)
Dominated by the decorated 13th-cent. hall block. The enclosure along the east, river side shelters a chamber block of the same date.
Papazian, 1990
ATHLONE Co. Westmeath M035415 (82)
Much of the present castle dates from its conversion to an army barrack 200 years ago. The central tower may enclose a motte: two round, 13th-cent. angle towers.
Open, 1907b
AUGHNANURE Co. Galway M152416
Elaborate (cf. Rockfleet) six-storey tower-house with a high vault, low-set bartizans and large bawns.
Craig, 1982, 104
*BAGINBUN Co. Wexford S801030
Cliff-top enclosure inserted into an earlier, larger promontory fort.
BALLINTUBBER Co. Roscommon M729745 (56, 58)
A large enclosure with the western half better preserved than the east: northwest tower much rebuilt in the 17th cent.
O’Conor Don, 1889; Claffey, 1975
*BALLYDEROWN Co. Cork R847007
Claimed to be an early 13th-cent. tower but with a first-floor window in the west wall which appears much later, as does the thin walling.
O’Keeffe, 1984
BALLYLAHAN Co. Mayo G273988 (73)
A polygonal enclosure c. 30 m across with a twin-towered gate house. Foundations of one square and one rectangular building are visible within the enclosure.
BALLYLOUGHAN Co. Carlow S747584 (68)
A rectangular enclosure with the surviving remains of two square angle towers and a gate house; earthworks to the north-east may represent a deserted settlement or the garden of a post-medieval house to the north.
De Paor, 1962
BALLYMOON Co. Carlow S744614 (65-7)
The most enigmatic castle in Ireland: a rectangular enclosure with few defences, yet first-rate accommodation for the lord and his household. Beside it are the remains of a village or town settlement.
BALLYMOTE Co. Sligo G662155 (56)
An irregularly rectangular courtyard with strong corner towers, twin-towered gate house and towers along the east and west walls; a postern tower planned for the south was never built, nor was the castle given a moat.
FitzPatrick, 1927; Sweetman, 1986
BALLYNAHOW Co. Tipperary S082602 (130-1)
Round tower-house.
Craig, 1982, 105
*BALLYWALTER Co. Antrim J266885
A very typical Ulster motte, in both its siting and dimensions.
CAHIR Co. Tipperary S060246
Occupies an island in a river. 13th-cent. inner enclosure with a gate tower and north tower. The gate tower was blocked and a great hall built against the tower in the late middle ages; the outer works are 16th cent.
Wheeler, n. d.; Johnson, 1975
CARLINGFORD Co. Louth J118119 (25-7)
An oval enclosure set on a rock outcrop above the port, divided into two by a massive north-south wall. In the town are the remains of at least three merchants’ tower-houses.
Buckley and Sweetman, 1991, 320-3
CARLOW S717763 (70)
The surviving east wall of the donjon shows that there were originally three stories.
CARRICKFERGUS Co. Antrim J415873 (13-14, 33, 35)
The most complex castle of Ireland; it still dominates the town and harbour. The inner ward and great tower are late 12th cent., middle ward and east tower 1215-23 and outer ward second quarter of the 13 th cent. The earliest surviving cannon ports in Ireland inserted in the 1560s and the gate rebuilt; converted to an infantry barrack and then an artillery fort in the 19th cent.
McNeill, 1981
CARRIGOGUNNELL Co. Limerick R499550 (120-2)
Set on a steep hill. Windows with sandstone dressings probably survive from a 13th-cent. building against the west curtain of the inner ward. The rest of it is dominated by a 15th-cent. block with great chambers and five stories of private chambers. The outer ward has a simple late medieval gate.
*CASTLE KEVIN Co. Wicklow T184985 (92)
A rectangular platform defined by deep ditches, with traces of stone revetment; a gate tower and a possible outer enclosure to the east.
Orpen, 1908
CASTLE KIRKE Co. Galway L995502 (102)
Irish hall-house on an island in Lough Corrib.
Lynn, 1986, 102-3
*CASTLE MORA Co. Cork R560927 (89, 118)
Hall-house with later chamber tower set in a ditched enclosure; also known as Castle Barret.
CASTLE ROCHE Co. Louth H991118 (45-7)
An inland promontory site with an outer ward or town to the east. 13th-cent. oval enclosure with hall and gate house.
Buckley and Sweetman, 1991, 333-7
CLARA Co. Kilkenny S575578
Elaborate, well-preserved five-storey tower-house in a tiny bawn.
Leask, 1977, 79-86
CLONMACNOIS Co. Offaly N007305 (43, 83)
Originally a large motte and bailey set beside the Shannon south of the early monastery. Hall and enclosure of stone then built on the motte and inner bailey.
CLONMINES Co. Wexford S845929
Two towers exist within the remains of a deserted town. One was a merchant’s; one the tower of a fortified church.
CLONMORE Co. Carlow S961763 (64)
Rectangular enclosure with hall and chamber to the east; late 13th-cent. lodgings added. Earlier motte and bailey half a mile east.
CLOUGH Co. Down J409403
Motte and bailey, where the entire top of the motte was excavated, revealing the hall and attached stone tower.
Waterman, 1954a
DELVIN Co. Westmeath N600626
Motte, with a 15th-cent. (?) rectangular tower and angle turrets east of it, partially destroyed by a shop.
Flanagan, 1993
DROMORE Co. Down J206532 (42)
Large motte and bailey.
Jope, 1966, 203-4
DUBLIN 0155339 (29)
The medieval fabric now reduced to rebuilt towers surrounded by later buildings, still the centre of government.
Maguire, 1974; Lynch and Manning, 1990
DUNAMASE Co. Laois S530980 (19, 20)
Hill-top castle with earlier fort. Late 12th-cent. hall tower and gate tower; early 13th-cent. gate house, looped curtain and outer gate.
Hodkinson, 1995
DUNDRUM Co. Down J404369 (15, 34)
Late 12th-cent. inner enclosure with early 13th-cent. round tower and later gate house. Late medieval outer ward wall enclosing a 17th-cent. house.
Jope, 1966, 207-11
DUNGARVAN Co. Waterford X263930 (28)
Late 12th-cent. inner enclosure with a 13th-cent. outer enclosure with twin-towered gate house and round great tower; the whole later occupied by a barrack.
DUNLUCE Co. Antrim C904414 (123)
Late 14th-cent. towered inner ward on a rock stack, mainly occupied by a 16-17th-cent. manor house, extended to the landward side, with gardens and a town.
DUNMORE Co. Galway M500640 (86)
13th-cent. walled enclosure on a rock with a possible twin-towered gate house and a hall, later raised to a tower.
DUNSOGHLEY Co. Dublin O118433
Elaborate tower-house of the Pale (cf. Roodstown), with four attached turrets for lesser chambers and a stair; it also has the only original roof left on a castle in Ireland.
FERNS Co. Wexford T098498 (69, 74-5)
South and east walls of the later 13th-cent. donjon tower, probably originally four separate ranges around a light well; fine chapel in the south-east corner tower.
Sweetman, 1979
GLANWORTH Co. Cork R756040
13th-cent. inner enclosure at the edge of a cliff with a hall and gate tower; in the 15th cent, the gate was blocked and a chamber turret added.
Waterman, 1968; Manning, 1987 GLENQUIN Co. Limerick R247126
Large (six-storeyed, with a vault over two of them) tower-house typical of the county, with the door leading to an entrance lobby from which doors lead to the main chamber, the stair and a guard room (cf. Lissamotta).
GRANARD Co. Longford N330808
The large motte and bailey still dominate the town, disfigured by a statue of St Patrick.
GRANNY Co. Kilkenny S575144 (113-16)
15th-cent. quadrilateral enclosure, extended along the river frontage; dominated by the hall and chamber tower attached to it.
McFadden, 1990
GREENCASTLE Co. Donegal C653403 (59-61)
Early 14th-cent. oval enclosure with a twin polygonal-towered gate house at one end and a more ruined large polygonal tower at the other; a tower-house added later.
Waterman, 1958; McNeill, 1980, 73-6; Lacy, 1983, 365-7 GREENCASTLE Co. Down J247119 (48-9)
13th-cent. quadrilateral enclosure; the ditch and dam being exposed by excavation on the east. A hall in the centre and chamber block against the east curtain.
Waterman and Collins, 1952; Jope, 1966, 211-19; McNeill, 1980, 23-7; GaskellBrown, 1979; Hamlin and Lynn, 1988, 66-9 GREENMOUNT Co. Louth O062930
Motte and bailey with foundations of a? hall visible in the bailey.
HARRY AVERT’S CASTLE Co. Tyrone H392852 (101, 103)
Gaelic Irish castle. A polygonal enclosure surrounds a natural hill, fronted by a double-towered gate house Jope et al., 1950; Rees-Jones and Waterman, 1967 *INCHIQUIN Co. Cork X039747 (34)
Round great tower, now standing isolated beside a marsh; later vault inserted over the ground floor.
Hartnett, 1945, 42-4 KILBOLANE Co. Cork R422210 (88)
The north-western half of a rectangular enclosure with two surviving angle towers. The rear of the southern one was rebuilt in the 15th cent., with modern repairs too.
KILCLIEF Co. Down J597457
Tower-house of the Bishop of Down (cf. Strangford) with the door set between two frontal turrets.
Jope, 1966, 233-5
KILKENNY S508556
Early 13th-cent. masonry quadrilateral with angle towers replaced an earth and timber enclosure.
Friel, n. d.; Murtagh, 1991; 1992
KILMACDUAGH Co. Galway M403201 (95)
Hall-house within the monastic enclosure.
KINBANE Co. Antrim D087438
Dramatically sited castle of the Gaelic Scots with a small tower and enclosure. McNeill, 1983, 109-12
KNOCKGRAFFON Co. Tipperary S044287 (36)
A large motte and bailey; the latter has a stone curtain wall and a building within it. Nearby is a medieval church and tower-house.
LEA Co. Laois N571120 (71-3)
Overgrown outer enclosure with a 13th-cent. gate house, later blocked and converted to a tower-house. Inner enclosure on a possible motte, dominated by a donjon.
Leask, 1937, 173-5
LIMERICK R573572 (3, 29-32, 35)
An early earthwork enclosure succeeded by the stone castle of c. 1210, an incomplete quadrilateral with three corner towers and a gate house. The southeast angle completed with a 16th-cent. angle bastion; converted to barracks c. 1800.
Wiggins, 1991
LISCARROLL Co. Cork R452124
A large 13th-cent. enclosure with a gate tower to the south; at the north end, a latrine tower and doors at first-floor level are evidence of buildings. The gate house was much rebuilt in the 15th cent.
Leask, 1936, 189 and fig. 23
*LISSAMOTTA Co. Limerick R419386
A small (four stories and attic, one vault) tower-house of the county plan, with entrance lobby leading to the main chamber, stairs and guard room (cf. Glenquin).
*MAINHAM Co. Kildare N870300
Typical motte, sited on a ridge top and beside a medieval church.
MAYNOOTH Co. Kildare N934376 (21)
A 12th-cent. hall tower (with inserted ground-floor vault) dominates the enclosure, perhaps with the site of a hall to the east; much rebuilt in the early 17th cent, and damaged by later road through it.
FitzGerald, 1914
MOUNT SANDAL Co. Londonderry C870300
Small enclosure castle set high over the River Bann.
McNeill, 1980, 8, 14-15
NENAGH Co. Tipperary R867794 (16-17, 51-3)
A quite small enclosure, with only the gate house and the round great tower now surviving; the tower of c. 1200 built higher in the mid-13th cent.
Gleeson and Leask, 1936
‘NEWCASTLE MCKYNEGAN Co. Wicklow O293042 (80-1)
A wide, round earth platform with a 13th-cent. gate house much rebuilt in the 1560s and 1570s.
Orpen, 1908
NEWCASTLE WEST Co. Limerick R278335 (106-7)
The original enclosure is now split between the OPW monument and the house next door. There are three principal buildings surviving: the 15th-cent. first-floor hall built over a 13th-cent. chapel (?); an early 14th-cent. hall or chapel partially rebuilt in the 15th cent, and much damaged recently; and a 15th-cent. chamber block.
Westropp, 1909
RATHMACKNEE Co. Wexford T034138
Five-storey tower-house with a well-preserved bawn containing modern buildings.
RINNDOWN Co. Roscommon M006540 (76-8)
Overgrown enclosure within the walls of a deserted town with a hall, a simple gate, and an added hall (?) to the west.
ROCKFLEET Co. Mayo L930952
A small, four-storey tower-house set beside the sea (cf. Aughnanure).
ROODSTOWN Co. Louth N996925 (129)
Small tower-house of the Pale (cf. Dunsoghley) with two turrets, but the door only defended by an internal murder-hole.
Buckley and Sweetman, 1991, 337
ROSCOMMON M874652 (54-7)
Formal rectangular courtyard with angle towers and gate house, all of 127585; 16th-cent. house built in the northern half and the gate house.
Leask, 1936, 185-7
ROSCREA Co. Tipperary S135890 (79)
13th-cent. enclosure with two angle towers (not projecting fully) and a gate tower, with turning bridge, later blocked.
Stout, 1984; Manning, 1989; 1990; Wren, 1992
SHANID Co. Limerick R243450
Motte and bailey with part of a polygonal shell-keep wall on the motte.
STRANGFORD Co. Down J589501
A plain merchant’s tower-house without turrets (cf. Kilclief).
Jope, 1966, 253; Waterman, 1967
SWORDS Co. Dublin O183460 (62-3)
Large enclosure with a simple gate to the south. Tower with two chambers at the north; hall (?) and lord’s chamber to the east; chapel and Constable’s lodgings on either side of the gate.
Leask, 1914; Fanning, 1975
TERRYGLASS Co. Tipperary M860010
Ground floor of an unfinished towered donjon.
Leask, 1943
TRIM Co. Meath N802568 (6-12)
Ireland’s largest and finest castle. The towered curtain wall has two gate towers and encloses the massive great tower and a hall complex against the north wall.
Sweetman, 1978; McNeill, 1990a; Stalley 1992
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