Things to do in County Offaly

Ballycowan Castle is a well-preserved tower house ruin in County Offaly, built by the O'Molloy family, traditional lords of Fircall and among the principal Gaelic families of the Irish Midlands. The castle rises to four storeys with battered lower walls, a vaulted ground floor and traces of surrounding bawn wall. The O'Molloys maintained authority in this part of Offaly across several centuries before disruption by the Cromwellian campaigns of the seventeenth century. County Offaly contains a remarkable range of heritage spanning the great Cistercian monastery at Clonmacnoise on the Shannon alongside numerous tower houses and Norman ringworks throughout the midland landscape.

Birr Castle is set in the town of Birr in the centre of Ireland, 72 miles from Shannon. Birr is a gothic style castle set in formal grounds with box hedging which is over 300 years old. Facilities Most of the grounds are accessible to the public but the castle is home to the seventh Earl of Rosse and therefore private. The main attraction of the castle grounds is Ireland's Historic Science Centre. On display are the 'Great Telescope' which was recorded as the largest telescope on earth until 1917 and also the oldest surviving darkroom in the world. The gardens themselves are also world famous as they contain the highest hedge in the world, and the oldest wrought Iron bridge in Ireland. There is a cafe and gift shop, guided tours are available by appointment only. The grounds are open year round March to October 09:00 - 18:00 and November to February 12:00 - 16:00. The first recorded castle on the site was 1170. In the 14th century the Ely O'Carroll family were the residents of the castle and they did not leave until the 17th century. In 1620 Sir Laurence Parson was granted the castle along with 1,277 acres of land and he was responsible for the construction of a new castle on the site of the original gatehouse. In 1641 Parsons' son William was the owner of the castle. During the Irish Rebellion William and the castle were surrounded by hostile Catholic forces for over a year, after the war was over William proceeded to totally refurbish the castle. In the early 1800's Laurence, 2nd Earl of Rosse gothicised and added more floors to the castle and his son William was responsible for building the 'Great Telescope' which was completed in 1845. The telescope was very important to astronomers and the castle had many famous visitors such as Charles Babbage and the Prince Imperial because of it. Following the death of Lawrence Parsons the telescope was dismantled after falling into disrepair. The mirror was sent to the science museum in London in 1914 and the casing melted down during the First World War. After many years the telescope was put back together and totally restored in the late 1990's.

Charleville Castle is situated in primordial oak woods near the Shannon River, 64 miles from Dublin, in the town of Tullamore. The grey stone gothic castle is in the process of being restored. It comprises of the main building with spectacular ceilings and castellated towers, the former kitchen, stables and a small gothic chapel. The grounds extend out towards the oak woodland Facilities Some of the castles finest features can been seen by the public including the main entrance hall and staircase, the library and dining room with its William Morris stenciling. The castle is also visited by those interested in paranormal activity from around the world. The oak forest and lands were gifted by Queen Elizabeth I to Moore, Earl of Charleville in 1577. Due to the lack of male heirs in the Moore family the land was inherited by Charles William Bury who was the grand nephew of the last Earl just six months old. In 1797 Charles was made Baron Tullamore and employed architect Francis Johnston to design him a castle. The building commenced the following year and took the next fourteen before it was finished. The estate grew to over 24,000 acres and again due to the lack of male heirs the estate passed to Lady Emily who took her husbands name Howard-Bury. Their son became one of Mallory's team in the first Everest summit attempt in 1921. Colonel Howard-Bury inherited the estate on the death of his mother but preferred to live in a smaller property and so left just a minimal staff to look after the castle. Upon his death in 1963 the castle was left uninhabited. Restoration of the castle in started in 1971 and now a charitable trust runs the restoration project with the day to day running being managed by volunteers from all over the world. The Arts Charleville Castle has featured on Scariest Places on Earth, Ghost Hunters International and was used in the film Northanger Abbey and Becoming Jane in 2007. Legends The castle is said to be haunted by the youngest daughter of the 3rd Earl of Charleville called Harriett who died on the main staircase. She has allegedly been caught on camera and has been heard singing and laughing throughout the castle.

Clonony Castle is located outside the village of Birr on the side of the Shannon River, 1/2 mile from Shannon. Constructed mainly of limestone, the castle was built as a large Tudor tower house with a fifty foot high tower, two defensive walls, moat and gardens. The north wall has been destroyed but the towers on the remaining three sides are still visible. The restoration has covered the first and second floors of the tower house which includes the spiral staircase destroyed to stop people entering the castle whilst derelict. The barrel vaulted ceiling on the second floor has also been restored to it former glory. Facilities Clonony Castle is open to the public but restoration work is still ongoing and dependent on the Irish weather and money. The grounds are equipped with picnic tables and it is possible to stay the night but beware there are no electric lights so it is candlelight only. The castle does have its own Tea Room and Banqueting Hall. Clonony Castle was built by the MacCoughlan clan in the 1500's and was the site where the firing of muskets was first practiced. In the early 17th century the castle was assigned to King Henry VIII who in turn handed it over to Thomas Boleyn and made him Earl of Ormond; the reasoning behind this was to win the hand of his daughter Ann in marriage. Two cousins of Queen Elizabeth; Mary and Elizabeth Boleyn, spent their lives at the castle and are buried underneath a hawthorn tree in the grounds. During Cromwell's invasion of Ireland the castle remained relatively untouched but was left abandoned and fell into ruins in parts. It is now in the hands of a private owner and renovation is progressing slowly with the help of donations. Legends The ghost of a man has been seen at the top of the tower wearing old fashioned clothes. He is said to be surrounded by a halo of mist and is a tall thin figure.

Kinnitty Castle is located equidistant from Dublin, Galway and Limerick; 75 miles away. It is set on the slopes of the Slieve Bloom Mountains between the villages of Kinnitty and Cadamstown. The Gothic revival castle stands in woodland on a 20,000 acre estate. The two storey castle built from limestone is on the site of an original castle where the original Norman walls and Abbey can still be seen. Facilities Kinnitty Castle was renovated in 1994 and became a luxury hotel. The hotel has 37 bedrooms, a gourmet restaurant, library bar and a Louis XV style drawing room. The hotel has kept the old world style of the castle by including furnishings of the period. Many of the facilities on offer are based around the outdoors with fishing, clay pigeon shooting and horse riding all available on site. For those who prefer to relax the hotel also offers a spa. The hotel offers wedding packages and has hosted celebrity weddings including the wedding of Ozzy Osbourne's son Jack. In the 11th century the O'Carroll's of Ely built a castle on the site. In 1630 new castle was built by William O'Carroll near the site of the original abbey which was confiscated by the English in 1641 and was handed over to the crown. In 1664 the castle was handed over as a reward for military service to Colonel Thomas Winter, his descendents sold the castle after his death to the Bernard family in 1764. The castle was renamed Castle Bernard and in 1811 the family commissioned architects to extend it. The castle was burned down by the republicans in 1922 and was subsequently rebuilt by the Bernard's who remained there until 1946. The castle was then purchased by Lord Decies, who only lived there for five years before he sold it again in 1951 to the State. The castle remained with the state until it was sold to the Ryan family; descendents of the King of Spain, in 1994 when they transformed it into a luxury hotel. The Arts The castle has been used to film part of the 'Most Haunted' series. Legends It is said that the ghost of a monk haunts the Great Hall and Dungeon Bar at the hotel. He is reportedly friendly and enjoys some of the parties that are held there.

Leap Castle is built on a rock about four miles north of Roscrea in County Offaly. It was originally built to guard a strategic pass through the Slieve Bloom mountains. The castle was originally a tower house, and has been extended with the later addition of wings on either side. The main hall was in the tower, and above this was a chapel which became known as the 'Bloody Chapel' after one of the residents, Teige O'Carroll, murdered his brother, who was a priest, while he was at the chapel altar. In a corner of the Bloody Chapel is the entrance to the secret dungeon or oubliette where prisoners were thrown down through a trap door and left to die. At the bottom were a series of spikes designed to impale the prisoners as they hurtled down. The spikes have now been covered over. Leap Castle was built around 1250 by the O'Bannon family who were subjects of the ruling O'Carroll clan. The Earl of Kildare, Gerald FitzGerald, attacked the castle in 1526 partially demolished it. The O'Carrolls regained possession by 1557. The castle passed to the Darby family through marriage in 1659. The castle was burned down during the Irish Civil War in 1922. After the fire, workers cleaning up the castle discovered the oubliette, and to their horror found many skeletons in the dungeon (some reports say three cart loads of human bones were recovered from the dungeon). There is rumoured to be a network of tunnels and secret chambers hewn out of the rock below the keep where human remains have been discovered. The castle is now owned by Sean and Anne Ryan who bought the property in 1991 and have undertaken restoration work to turn the building into a family home. The Arts Leap Castle was featured on the cover of the novel "The Riders" by Australian author Tim Winton. Legends This castle is reputed to be one of the most haunted in Ireland. There are numerous stories of murders and massacres associated with the castle. The most startling ghost story is the terrifying creature known as the "It" or the "Elemental" - a small hunched creature that appears with the foul stench of a rotting corpse. Mildred Darby may have been the first to encounter the Elemental, which she wrote about in an occult publication in 1909.