The Castles Of Ireland

Ireland is a land of castles, reflecting its turbulent past. Virtually every county has two or three.

Probably the most famous castle in all Ireland is Blarney Castle, home of the famous "Blarney Stone" or – to give it's official name – "The Stone of Eloquence". continue reading . . .

It is believed anyone kissing the stone will receive the gift of eloquence. You certainly need to be brave before you can become eloquent, as kissing the stone involves lying down, with your upper body in mid air over a deep chasm and kissing the stone upside down!

This has given rise to the description, given to anyone with a way with words, as having "Kissed The Blarney Stone!"

Located in County Cork in the south east corner, Blarney Castle is an imposing building. It was built in 1446 by Dermot McCarthy and was the ancient stronghold of the McCarthy's, Lords of Muskerry.

One of the oldest castles, built on the site of a much earlier Viking settlement, lies next to the Shannon River on King's Island.

This is known as King John's Castle [PICTURE TO COME]and, although the names King John's Castle was given to several castles built in Ireland, during the reign of the notorious English King John, it is the one in the centre of Limerick City, that is the best preserved and most impressive of all King John's castles.

The original Viking settlement on the site of the castle is attributed to Thormodr Helgason. He used King's Island, as it later became known, as a base to raid settlements – mainly ecclesiastical settlements the length of the River Shannon.

In 937 AD the Limerick Vikings clashed with their Viking brothers who had set up the first settlement on the present day Dublin and were defeated and the settlement fell into ruin, until about 250 years later. Then, King John's castle builders, recognising Thormodr's excellent choice of location for a fortress, started to build the present castle, which was completed about 1200 AD.

One of the biggest castles in Ireland is Cahir Castle, built in 1142 by Conor o'Brien on an island in the middle of the River Suir, in what is present day Cahir.

Like many Irish castles Cahir Castle has had a chequered history, having changed hands many times. Most notably this happened in the Elizabethan Wars when, after a three day siege, the castle was captured by The English Earl of Essex.

Again, in the Irish Confederate Wars of the 1640s, which mirrored the English Civil War, the castle was besieged – this time by the forces ranged against the English King, those of Oliver Cromwell.

The Castle is now owned by the Irish state, as the Cahir line died out in 1961, with the death of the last Lord Cahir.

No mention of Ireland's castles would be complete without mention of the castle recently bought, for a reputed £2.5million, by multi-millionaire singer/songwriter Enya. With her unique mixture of Gaelic ballads and New Age ambience, she is one of Irelands best exports, having sold 20 million records of her music and second only to the Irish pop band U2 in value of her music exports. 

Located high on a south facing slope, overlooking Killiney Bay on the coast south of Dublin, Ayesha Castle has some splendid reception rooms with full length windows offering fine views of the sea. 

Being surrounded by high granite walls, on three sides with the sea on the fourth, it offers a degree of privacy only a castle could give!  

© Copyright 2007  Joseph Donegal and The-Best-Of-Ireland.com