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Visiting Irish castles is popular for good reason
Posted on Tuesday, September 06, 2011 at 08:17 AM
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| Mel Gibson used Trim Castle for scenes in Braveheart. |
According to the Irish government's figures almost 2.5 million tourists visited one or more of Ireland's castles and historic houses. That strikes me as an awful lot of people touring castles and other ancient houses and buildings, but I can understand the appeal – especially if you come from America or Canada or any place where medieval structures are non-existent.
And if you've been to Ireland you know there are castles everywhere, which makes it easy to find one to visit. Most of them are ruins, decaying reminders that nothing man builds is permanent.
Some castles are bigger than others, some are older, some are more significant and, it has to be said, some are prettier than others. Of course the beauty of a castle is, to a large extent, determined by the surrounding vista. Ireland has many spectacularly located castles. Although there may be some that are the equal of Dunluce, I doubt any can top the setting Dunluce has on the Antrim coast.
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| Even on a cloudy evening Dunluce looks spectacular |
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Thanks to the fact that my son is so much younger than his older sisters I've been able to use him as an excuse to revisit some castles I'd been to years ago. We haven't been to too many, but Carrickfergus and Trim in County Meath are the two oldest ... and the best.
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| John Paul Jones was wary of Carrickfergus Castle. |
Perhaps due to the fact I was only at Trim last week rather than last year, as is the case with Carrickfergus, but I think Trim is the best to visit. Trim Castle not only looks fantastic - see above or the movie Braveheart - it also has what I think is just the right amount of restoration - not much. And it's historically very significant.
However, I have to admit that the visit to Trim Castle was really made by the tour guide, (David, I believe). He clearly loved doing what he was doing, knew the story of the castle inside and out. He conveyed his vast knowledge with such enthusiasm that it took a few minutes for my brain to adjust to the volume of information he was passing on. He knew how to make it great for children too, talking about things kids love like how people way back when didn't wash often and how they 'went to the bathroom' and so on.
While I think Trim is the best, you may think differently. The best part is that there are so many castles, especially the smaller tower houses that you can't help running into these picturesque, centuries old stone structures. Ireland's castles offer great pictures and great stories.
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warlocks | Sep 08, 2011, 11:44 PM EDT
someday i would love to go on Vacation to Ireland i have seen pictures of the Beautiful Green Country, My Great Grand parents came from Cork I love watching the Quiet Man with the Duke & Maureen. Well with the Grace of God i will & i wll lift a Pint to the memory of my Grand parents.
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KerryLKing | Sep 07, 2011, 03:26 PM EDT
Ah, many a wonderful picture I have of DunLuce & others while visiting. Incredibly picturesque down every country road in Ireland.....
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PatriciaMarya | Sep 06, 2011, 10:07 PM EDT
I am confused...I was taught that the round towers are forts, not castles. And the most beautiful to me is Ashford and it is still in use...my idea of a castle!
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Trealach | Sep 06, 2011, 04:52 PM EDT
When visiting castles, if you are interested in 'true art' a visit to any cathedral is well worth a visit and carefully view each of the stained glass windows. Most of the cathedrals are 'Gothic' and therefore over 200 years old. Due to time, religious wars, and a lack of documentation, much of the information regarding the glass artists has been lost. What hasn't been lost is the absolute beauty of their skill, and is well worth a visit. The best time to view them is on an overcast day otherwise the sun washes out the delicate colours.
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TheYank | Sep 06, 2011, 04:48 PM EDT
Ajreaper,
I still find that amazing, although the pill boxes near Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin are a sad example of this.
I still find that amazing, although the pill boxes near Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin are a sad example of this.
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Ajreaper | Sep 06, 2011, 01:17 PM EDT
One thing that struck me when visiting Dublin was having something built in the 14th century standing right next to something built in the 20th century both carrying on the business they were built for- I just found that to be amazing and certainly very different then anything I'd ever seen here in the American southwest.
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Tough questions. What's a fort and what's a castle? To me a castle is a big, stone fortress. No idea if that matches the definition.
Above, however, I was talking about tower houses, not the round towers that were built near monasteries. Whether those qualify as forts or castles or simply well fortified bell towers I have no idea.
Ashford Castle is special - post card beauty, that's for sure. I've only seen it - briefly - from the outside. I've never been inside.
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