My family of 4 adults will be in the Dublin area, have planned 2 nights stay in Dun Laoghaire and wanted to go somewhere in the remaining 2 nights we have in Ireland and spend at least one night in a castle. I've found celticcastles.com, looked at 2 near Dublin, the Clontarf Castle (one reviewer said it's not a real castle) and the Barberstown Castle in Straffan. The reviews from tripadvisor.com haven't been too encouraging. We'll have a car so could go pretty much anywhere, but need to fly out of Dublin 2 days later, therefore the southwest of Ireland is probably too far to go. Thanks for you input!
Posted by
Sparks, NV
12 posts
Sue, stayed at Waterford Castle on our first trip to Ireland about 7 years ago. Located on an island in the river on the edge of Waterford. Great, old, castle looking bulding. Sorry, no walls, battlements, etc. Had a wonderful meal in the dining room. Enjoyed a stroll through the woods, up the drive, and along the golf course. The Manager took my wife and her mother on a private tour of unrenovated areas of the castle not open to the public. Might be worth a look. I imagine they have a web site. Try waterford castle.ie.
Posted by
Rapid River, MI, USA
3 posts
I agree. Waterford Castle is quaint and worth a splurge for one night. Nice breakfast, but would recommend you have supper in Waterford or nearby and skip the supper at the castle--unless you like a dress code!
Posted by
LANCASTER, CA, USA
8 posts
I saw this one mentioned in the RS Guidebook feedback section. Sligo might be further than you planned, though.
http://www.markreecastle.ie/index.html
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9371 posts
When we were in Ireland in 2001 we had planned to stay in Killiane Castle near Cork. Unfortunately, the foot and mouth epidemic in Britain at that time closed many rural sites in Ireland (in a successful attempt to keep foot and mouth out of the country). It is a 12th century castle and is listed in the Farmhouse B&B book available from the Irish Tourist Board.
Posted by
Louisville, Kentucky
16 posts
We just stayed at Kinnitty Castle, It was a 2 hour drive West of Dublin