Castle hotel
Enniscorthy
Wilton Castle
A castle with roots to the 13th century, rebuilt after a devastating 1923 fire and reopened as a luxury exclusive-use and boutique hotel.
Worth the detour
Notable castles to visit
13thc.
Notable castle
Ferns Castle (in ruins)
Built around 1220 by William Marshal on the site of the former stronghold of Diarmait Mac Murchada, King of Leinster, whose 1169 invitation to Strongbow and the Normans began the Norman invasion of Ireland.
19thc.
Notable castle
Johnstown Castle
Incorporating an earlier medieval tower house of the Esmonde family, Johnstown Castle was extensively remodelled in the 19th century into a romantic Gothic Revival mansion set in ornamental lakeside gardens near Wexford town.
16thc.
Notable castle
Enniscorthy Castle
Construction began in the late 1190s under the Prendergast family, with the castle taking its present four-drum-tower form after being rebuilt in the 1580s.
15thc.
Notable castle
Rathmacknee Castle
Built by the Devereux family, a Norman lineage, in the 15th century near Rosslare in south Wexford, Rathmacknee is one of the best-preserved tower houses in the county, retaining its bawn wall and corner turret largely intact.
16thc.
Notable castle
Slade Castle
Built by the Laffan (Laffin) family in the late 1400s at the small fishing harbour of Slade on the Hook Peninsula, this well-preserved tower house complex sits directly above the tiny quay, evoking its role as a merchant and fishing stronghold.
13thc.
Notable castle
Wilton Castle
Standing on a site with 13th-century origins near Bree, Enniscorthy, Wilton Castle was burned to the ground by armed men during the Irish Civil War in March 1923 and lay a roofless ruin for over 80 years.