Preface
Step into
the world of
ancient Ireland
There are places in Ireland where history does not feel distant. It rises from the landscape, stands among the trees, follows the course of a river and watches over the fields from the top of a hill. Sometimes it appears as a magnificent fortress; sometimes as little more than a weathered tower or a few stones hidden beneath the ivy. Yet every ruin has a story, and every story is part of the extraordinary tapestry of Ireland.
Across the island, castles, tower houses, monasteries, fortified homes and ancient strongholds have survived centuries of change. Some were built to defend a territory, others to proclaim the power and wealth of their owners. Many witnessed battles, sieges, political upheavals and rebellion; others simply endured the quieter passage of generations. Today, their walls may be broken and their roofs long gone, but the places themselves still have an extraordinary ability to make us wonder who stood there before us, what they saw, and what happened behind those ancient stones.
Our own journey began almost by accident. A few years ago, on a warm summer day, we came across the ruins of Carrigogunnell Castle, near Clarina in County Limerick. We knew very little about it when we arrived. We certainly did not expect that a ruined medieval castle, standing quietly above the Shannon valley, would become the starting point of something that would accompany us for years.
But there was something about Carrigogunnell that stayed with us. Its isolated position, its dramatic silhouette and the landscape stretching out beneath its walls made it impossible simply to visit and leave. We wanted to know its history. Then we wanted to see another castle. And then another one.
That curiosity gradually became Castles of Éireann.
What began with a single ruin turned into a journey across Ireland in search of forgotten places, remarkable landscapes and the stories hidden within them. Some destinations are famous and carefully preserved; others are little-known ruins that can easily be missed unless you know where to look. We have found ourselves walking through forests, crossing fields, climbing ancient walls and, occasionally, retreating rather quickly when an enthusiastic Irish dog decided that we had wandered somewhere we were not supposed to be!
Along the way, we discovered that the fascination of these places lies not only in their architecture. It is also in their setting. A castle can tell you something about the people who built it, but the landscape around it often tells you why it was built there in the first place. A river, a mountain pass, a harbour, a fertile valley or a distant view of another stronghold can suddenly make an old ruin come alive.
This website is our attempt to share that sense of discovery.
We are not simply collecting pictures of beautiful ruins. We want to understand the places we visit and to bring together their history, architecture, legends and surroundings in a way that makes you want to discover them for yourself. Some stories are well documented; others have been shaped by centuries of tradition and local memory. Wherever possible, we try to distinguish between what we know, what we can reasonably reconstruct and what belongs to the fascinating world of legend.
So take your time. Explore the map, choose a castle at random, follow a road into the countryside or search for a place you have never heard of before. You may find a great medieval fortress, a forgotten tower house or nothing more than a fragment of a wall covered in ivy. Whatever you find, remember that the most unassuming ruins can sometimes have the most remarkable stories.
Ireland has been changing for centuries. Its castles have changed with it. Some have survived almost intact, some have become magnificent houses, and some have surrendered themselves to the landscape. But they remain witnesses to the people and events that shaped this island.
We invite you to follow their stories, discover the places where they still stand and, perhaps, find a few that you will want to visit yourself.
The journey begins here. Enjoy the discovery.
About
Hello, and welcome to Castles of Éireann! Or, as the Irish would say, Tá sé go deas bualadh leat.
Perhaps the best way to tell you who we are is to tell you how this website began.
It all started one October day when we, having both arrived in Ireland independently for work, found ourselves beginning a new chapter of our lives. We had made our way to different parts of the country: Andreea to Dublin and Pasquale to Limerick. Neither of us knew at the time quite where that journey would take us. We certainly did not imagine that, years later, Ireland would feel like home.
Our fascination with Irish castles began rather innocently. One quiet Sunday, with no particular plans and wondering where to go, we opened Google Maps and noticed the ruins of Carrigogunnell Castle, just outside Limerick. We went there simply because it looked interesting. We had no idea that this rather unremarkable Sunday outing would become the beginning of something much bigger.
Since then, castles have taken us all over Ireland. We have discovered magnificent fortresses, forgotten tower houses, ruined estates and places that are barely marked on a map. And the more we explore, the more we realise that what fascinates us is not simply the buildings themselves. It is everything around them: their architecture, their landscapes, the people who once lived there, the stories and legends connected to them, and the historical events that shaped the Ireland we know today.
There is something particularly captivating about standing among the ruins of a place that was once full of life and power. Walls that once stood strong are slowly returning to the landscape; rooms that once echoed with voices are now silent. It is almost impossible not to wonder what these places looked like centuries ago, when their courtyards were busy, their fires were burning and their inhabitants had no idea that one day only fragments of their world would remain.
Sometimes, wandering through these ruins, we find ourselves imagining another life entirely: that of long-forgotten lords, perhaps dispossessed earls walking alone through what was once their home, trying to reconstruct in their imagination the world that had disappeared around them. Perhaps that is part of the magic of these places. They leave just enough behind for the imagination to take over.
Andreea comes from Romania, a country of castles, fortresses and legends. With a background in journalism and a passion for photography, she is fascinated by architecture, history, nature and the stories hidden behind the places we visit. She is particularly interested in capturing not only what a castle looks like, but also something of the atmosphere surrounding it. She is also firmly convinced that Castles of Éireann needs a drone. We are still negotiating.
Pasquale is an electronic engineer from Italy, with a particular interest in politics and a tendency to take things apart mentally to understand how they work. History naturally fits into that way of thinking: he enjoys looking beyond events and trying to understand the forces, decisions and circumstances that shaped them. He also enjoys reading, listening to people and discovering different points of view. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this means that a simple question rarely remains a simple question for very long.
Between us, we normally speak Italian. When a conversation becomes particularly heated, however, we switch to English and return to neutral ground. It seems only fair.
Of course, exploring Ireland's ruins is not always as romantic as it sounds. We have crossed muddy fields, walked through gorse, been soaked by Irish weather, received electric shocks from fences and had quite a few encounters with dogs. Most of the dogs have been perfectly friendly. The cows have been a different matter.
Once, in Galway, a landlord kindly gave us the keys to a castle and warned us that there would be cows around the property. He assured us that they were gentle. We closed the gate behind us and went off to explore. When we were ready to leave, we discovered that several dozen cows were waiting outside the gate. After about half an hour of staring at one another, we decided that diplomacy was worth a try. We explained to them that there was no need to worry because we were perfectly harmless. We even pointed out that Pasquale was a vegetarian and suggested that, if they had any complaints, they should take them up with Andreea. The cows remained unconvinced.
Eventually, we decided on a tactical withdrawal. We would leave the gate, walk around the castle and approach the road from the other side. We set off, turned the corner... and found another group of cows waiting for us. So we ran back. It took us hours to get out of there.
On another occasion, in Tipperary, a landlord encouraged us to walk onto his property because the view of the tower house was better from behind it. While we were taking photographs, Andreea suddenly spotted four or five horses approaching from behind Pasquale. We ran for the gate. Thinking that Andreea was right behind him, Pasquale tried to position himself between her and the horses. When he turned around, however, she had disappeared. She had thrown herself into the gorse and was making her own escape. We both eventually made it back to the gate. And somehow, we still visit castles. After all that, the landlord mocked us for being unable to handle his horses. We were not entirely convinced that this was the right moment to discuss our equestrian skills.
But Castles of Éireann was never meant to be simply a catalogue of places we have visited. In many ways, it is a gift to ourselves. When work has been particularly difficult, we can take a break, open the website and choose a castle. We look through the photographs, revisit places we have already explored and, for a little while, allow ourselves to be somewhere else.
At the same time, we wanted to share that feeling with people around the world who are curious to discover a quieter, more hidden and authentic side of Ireland. There are said to be tens of thousands of castle ruins, tower houses and other historic remains scattered across Ireland. A lifetime would not be enough to see them all, let alone document them. So we have made peace with the fact that this website will probably never be finished. And that is perfectly fine.
We will keep adding new castles, photographs, stories and historical research, little by little, as our own journey through Ireland continues. Perhaps, over time, Castles of Éireann will also become a place where other people who share our fascination with Irish history can contribute their own knowledge, memories and discoveries. Perhaps you will discover a castle here that you have never heard of. Perhaps you will know something about one of these places that we do not. Perhaps you will simply enjoy wandering through the site as much as we enjoy building it.
If so, GET IN TOUCH. Tell us about a castle we should visit, share a story, correct us if we have got something wrong, or simply let us know that you enjoyed the journey.
There are far too many castles in Ireland for two people to discover them all. So we might as well enjoy the journey. And if you happen to know where the next one is, even better.
