Castle hotel
Tralee
Ballyseede Castle
Kerry's only genuine castle hotel, with 45 rooms across a mix of original castle and newer wings, set in 30 acres near Tralee.
Worth the detour
Notable castles to visit
16thc.
Notable castle
Ballycarbery Castle (in ruins)
First fortified in 1398 by Carberry O'Shea and later held by the MacCarthy Mór clan, Ballycarbery's present ruins date to the 16th century.
1490s
Notable castle
Carrigafoyle Castle
Built by Conor Liath O'Connor Kerry in the 1490s and standing 86 feet high, Carrigafoyle commanded the shipping lanes on the Shannon Estuary supplying Limerick, earning the nickname 'guardian of the Shannon'.
16thc.
Notable castle
Ballybunion Castle
Built by the Fitzmaurice family (Geraldines of West Limerick) on an earlier promontory fort site, the four-storey tower house features a rare anti-clockwise spiral staircase and a large basement built for siege supplies.
1831
Notable castle
Dromore Castle (County Kerry)
Designed by architect Thomas Deane for the Mahony family overlooking the Kenmare River, Dromore's neo-Gothic design — including a round tower wing with a spiral staircase — inspired the 1892 ballad 'The Castle of Dromore'.
15thc.
Notable castle
Listowel Castle (in ruins)
The last Geraldine stronghold to hold out against Queen Elizabeth I's forces, Listowel Castle fell after a 28-day siege on 5 November 1600 during the First Desmond Rebellion.
15thc.
Notable castle
Ross Castle (in ruins)
Built by the O'Donoghue Mór clan on the shores of Lough Leane in Killarney National Park, Ross Castle was among the last strongholds in Ireland to fall to Cromwell's forces, only captured after artillery was floated up the River Laune by boat.