The castle
Built in 1288 by Nicholas Barby, one of Ireland's oldest continuously habited castles, later extended with Elizabethan and Victorian wings; owned by Eric Clapton from 1979-1987.
Why stay here
A 13th-century medieval keep at its core, opened as a guesthouse in 1971 and once a rock-star retreat where Clapton hosted late-night sessions in the Castle Keep.