Best Castle in County Offaly, Republic of Ireland - Map and Reviews

Ballycowan Castle is a ruined tower house located in County Offaly, in the Irish Midlands, and stands as one of the more substantial and atmospheric castle remains in that part of the country. Situated near the town of Tullamore, the castle is a fine example of the late medieval tower house tradition that flourished across Ireland between roughly the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. Though not as frequently visited as some of the more famous castle ruins in Ireland, Ballycowan rewards those who seek it out with a genuinely striking structure that retains considerable height and integrity despite centuries of exposure to the elements. The site appeals to those with an interest in Irish medieval history, vernacular architecture, and the quieter corners of the Irish landscape that have not yet been swamped by heritage tourism infrastructure. The castle is associated with the O'Molloy family, a Gaelic Irish sept who held considerable power in County Offaly during the medieval period. The O'Molloys were the dominant lords of Fircall, a territory roughly corresponding to a portion of modern County Offaly, and they constructed and occupied a number of fortified structures throughout their territory. Ballycowan is believed to date primarily from the sixteenth century, though the site may have had earlier occupation. The castle passed from Gaelic Irish hands during the upheavals of the Tudor and Cromwellian conquests, a pattern repeated across Ireland as native lordships were dispossessed and their lands redistributed to settlers and administrators loyal to the English crown. The castle is thought to have been held by the Molloy family into the early seventeenth century before it eventually fell into ruin and disuse. Physically, Ballycowan presents as a tall, rectangular tower house of several storeys, built in the robust and practical style typical of Irish late medieval fortifications. The walls are thick cut stone and the structure retains significant height, making it clearly visible from the surrounding flat midland landscape. There are the remains of a bawn, the enclosed courtyard area that would have surrounded and protected the main tower, and traces of associated outbuildings can be detected around the site. The stonework is weathered and colonised by mosses and lichens, giving the ruin a deeply organic quality that speaks to its age and long abandonment. Standing close to the walls, one gets a strong sense of the mass and solidity that would have made such a structure genuinely formidable in its day. The landscape around Ballycowan is characteristic of County Offaly — relatively flat, agricultural, and quietly beautiful in the way that the Irish Midlands can be when given proper attention. The area is part of a broader landscape shaped by glacial activity, with low fields, hedgerows, and the occasional stretch of bogland visible in the wider surroundings. Tullamore, the county town of Offaly, lies only a few kilometres to the southeast and provides the nearest concentration of services, accommodation, and amenities. The Grand Canal, one of Ireland's great inland waterways, passes through Tullamore and is itself a destination of historic and recreational interest. The broader Offaly midlands contain a number of other heritage sites, including Clonmacnoise, one of Ireland's most important early Christian monastic sites, which lies within comfortable driving distance to the southwest along the River Shannon. For those wishing to visit, Ballycowan Castle is accessible by car and lies along or near a rural road in the Ballycowan townland outside Tullamore. As with many Irish tower house ruins in agricultural settings, visitors should be aware that access arrangements can be informal, and the site does not operate as a managed heritage attraction with facilities such as car parks, signage, or visitor centres. It is advisable to approach the visit with appropriate footwear for potentially uneven or muddy ground. The castle can be appreciated from the roadside or surrounding area, and the exterior stonework and overall form of the structure are visible without needing to enter the ruin itself, which may be structurally unsafe. The best times to visit are during the longer daylight hours of spring, summer, and early autumn, when the surrounding countryside is at its most accessible and the light is good for appreciating and photographing the stonework. One of the quietly fascinating aspects of Ballycowan, as with so many Irish tower houses, is what it represents about the social and political world that produced it. These structures were not romantic castles in the fairy-tale sense but were practical, working fortifications and residences for local lords who needed to project power, provide security, and demonstrate status within a highly competitive and often violent political landscape. The O'Molloys of Fircall existed in a world of shifting alliances, cattle raids, and dynastic competition with neighbouring septs, while simultaneously navigating the encroaching pressure of English colonial administration. That this tower, built by a Gaelic family at the edge of the Pale's influence, still stands in recognisable form today is a small but genuine connection to a world that has otherwise entirely vanished.

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.

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.

Kinnitty Castle is a striking Gothic Revival castle hotel nestled in the foothills of the Slieve Bloom Mountains in County Offaly, in the Irish Midlands. It is one of Ireland's most distinctive castle accommodation experiences, offering guests the rare opportunity to sleep within the walls of a genuine medieval-origin fortification that has been carefully adapted into a luxury hotel. The castle is notable not only for its architectural grandeur but also for the remarkable depth of history layered into its stones, its position within a sweeping demesne of ancient woodland, and its reputation as one of the more atmospherically charged historic properties in the country. Visitors come for the romance of the setting, the sense of stepping into a slower and more ceremonial world, and the gateway it provides to an underexplored and beautiful corner of Ireland. The site at Kinnitty has harboured human activity for well over a thousand years. The original castle was built in 1213 by the Anglo-Norman knight Phillip O'Brien, though the lands themselves were associated far earlier with the ancient Gaelic kingdom of Offaly and the O'Carroll clan, who were lords of the region for centuries. The Bernards, a prominent Anglo-Irish family, acquired the estate in the early seventeenth century and it remained in their possession for nearly three hundred years. The present castle structure largely dates from a rebuilding carried out around 1213, though the current Gothic Revival architecture visible today was significantly shaped by the work undertaken in the early nineteenth century, around 1811, when the Bernards commissioned a dramatic remodelling in the Gothick style. The estate passed through various hands after the decline of the Anglo-Irish ascendancy in the early twentieth century and eventually fell into disrepair before being rescued and converted into a hotel. The castle's physical presence is immediately theatrical. Built from pale grey limestone with pointed turrets, crenellated battlements, and lancet windows, it rises with genuine authority from its woodland setting. The exterior has the quality of a stage set that turns out to be entirely real — a sensation reinforced when one steps inside and finds vaulted ceilings, great stone fireplaces, suits of armour in alcoves, and corridors that creak with the accumulated memory of centuries. The interior is richly furnished in a manner appropriate to the castle's history, with tapestries, period furniture, and heraldic motifs throughout. In the evenings, when fires are lit and the light is low, the atmosphere deepens considerably, and it is easy to understand why the castle has acquired a reputation for being haunted. The surrounding landscape is part of what makes Kinnitty genuinely special rather than merely interesting. The Slieve Bloom Mountains form a wild and largely untamed backdrop, a range of modest but deeply characterful hills cloaked in heather and bog, with long walking trails that are rarely crowded. The village of Kinnitty itself is a small, quiet settlement with a traditional Irish character. The broader County Offaly landscape — flat bogland giving way to the sudden drama of the Slieve Blooms — is one of the more quietly beautiful environments in the Irish Midlands, and it rewards those willing to spend time in it rather than simply pass through. On the castle grounds, visitors can explore the demesne, which retains the feel of a nineteenth-century landed estate. Ancient woodland surrounds the castle, and there is a notable high cross in the village of Kinnitty itself, known as the Kinnitty High Cross, which is a fine example of medieval Irish stonework and a reminder of the deep monastic heritage of this part of Offaly. The monastery of Kinnitty, associated with Saint Finán of Clonard, gave the village its early Christian significance, and this spiritual history underlies the entire locality. For practical visiting purposes, Kinnitty Castle is accessible by car from Birr, which lies roughly twelve kilometres to the southwest and is itself a heritage town well worth visiting for Birr Castle Demesne and its historic telescope. From Dublin, the journey is approximately one and a half hours by road via the M6 and local roads through Tullamore or Birr. Public transport to Kinnitty itself is limited, and a car is strongly recommended. The castle operates as a hotel and events venue, and non-residents can visit for dining or afternoon tea, though booking is advisable. The property is popular for weddings. The best time to visit is arguably the shoulder seasons of spring and autumn, when the woodland is at its most atmospheric and the surrounding hills are clear. Winter visits have their own appeal, with fires blazing and the castle at its most enclosed and intimate. Among the more unusual details associated with Kinnitty is the Bernard family's pyramid-shaped mausoleum, which stands near the castle and lends the estate an unexpectedly Egyptian flavour — a quirk of nineteenth-century antiquarian enthusiasm that sits incongruously and memorably in the Irish countryside. The castle has also been used as a filming location and has appeared in various period productions over the years. Locally, stories persist of ghosts in the castle's older wings, as is common with properties of this age, but at Kinnitty these tales seem to carry a particular conviction, perhaps because the building's layered history and its position amid dark woodland creates conditions genuinely conducive to the imagination.

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.