castles historical limerick

Blossom Gate. This is the only gate remaining from the medieval town wall of Kilmallock.
The Collegiate Church. The Round Tower of this church may have originally been part of an earlier monastery. The probably 13th century church has three aisles, a chancel and it’s south wall contains a 13th century door. It’s use as by the Church of Ireland had a bearing on the history of the Earls of Desmond; being the place where the ‘Sugan’ Earl surrendered in 1600 and where the 15th Earl attended a...

King John's Castle was built between 1200 and 1210 and was repaired and extended many times in the following centuries. The visitor centre at the castle contains an imaginative historical exhibition which tells the story of the castle. Archaeological excavations have revealed Pre-Norman settlements and evidence from the traumatic siege of 1642.

The courtyard and castle display some of the trades and traditions of the 16th century with the aid of costumed characters. The castle offers pan...

The legend of the family that are said to have built this castle is like something from a fairy-tale; the O’Hallinans were all killed by the O’Briens, except one boy who later avenged his family. The six-storey castle has two barrel vaulted rooms in good condition and interesting slits for archers on the top floor....

This Castle was built on a sanctuary of the Celtic Goddess of love and poetry, Matres. The square castle was built by the 7th Earl of Desmond in the mid 15th century. It has entered the history books several times. It was the place were Edmund Spenser and Walter Raleigh first met and is said to have inspired ‘The Faerie Queene’.

It was owned by the family of Robet Southwell, the metaphysical poet and is linked to the journey of the two Wesleyite converts who founded the first Methodist c...

The town was founded by the Norse early in the 10th century, but by the end of the century of Irish under Brian Boru captured it. The O'Briens had already made it their own capital by 1100. In 1175 Raymond Le Gros took the town for a time, though he had to relinquish it shortly afterwards. But by 1200 the Normans were back again, and with few interruptions held it until the Confederate Catholics captured it in 1642. The Cromwellians took it in 1651.

In October 1691 the Williamites de...

This castle dates to at least 1230 when history first mentions it. It contains an interesting tower whose 11 feet thick walls are polygonal on the outside and round on the inside. About 30-40 feet of this tower remain. The remains of a curtain wall and its battlements and the bailey are also present. Nearby there is a ringfort, giving a sense of continuity throughout history to the area....

Castle: This Norman castle may have been built on an earlier ringfort by the main bridge across the Maigue or it may be contemporary. The square tower is of the castle is surrounded by a rampart with battlements To the south a drawbridge crosses the fort’s ditch. Surrounding this ditch is a further wall. Two gates offered access through it, the obviously more strategic south one protected by two towers.

Franciscan Friary: Now surrounded by the Adare Manor golf course, this friary was...

Askeaton Castle: The Castle was founded around the turn of the 13th century, on an island in the River Deel. Part of the 15th century tower on the site remains, itself a replacement of an older tower. Similarly the mid-15th century banqueting hall just inside of the outer wall on the island was built on the foundations of an earlier hall. This hall has finely carved windows and is one of the finest remaining medieval secular buildings, although there was once a chapel attached. After changing...