Originating as a motte-and-bailey built by the Gaelic O'Carroll clan, Birr Castle was granted to the Parsons family in 1620 and remains their home today. The demesne is famed for the Great Telescope built by the 3rd Earl of Rosse in 1845 (the world's largest telescope for over 70 years) and its award-winning gardens.
Visiting Birr Castle
Yes, gardens and Great Telescope open daily; castle interior private
"Originating as a motte-and-bailey built by the Gaelic O'Carroll clan, Birr Castle was granted to the Parsons family in 1620 and remains their home today."
Where to stay nearby
The closest castle hotel is Kinnitty Castle, 13.29 km away in Kinnitty — First castle at the site destroyed in 1209 and rebuilt by the Normans in 1213; extended into its current neo-Gothic form in 1811 by the Pain Brothers, burned by Republican forces in 1922 and rebuilt in 1928.
