How many castles are there in Ireland?

Nobody agrees on a number, because it depends what you count. Estimates of tower houses alone — the tall, narrow fortified homes built mostly between 1400 and 1650 — run past 3,000, of which a great many survive as ruins in fields. This map covers the 354 that have a documented article and coordinates behind them.

What is the oldest castle in Ireland?

The Normans brought castle-building with them after 1169. The earliest were earth-and-timber motte-and-bailey forts; the stone keeps followed, with Carrickfergus in Antrim and Trim in Meath among the oldest substantial survivors, both begun in the late 1100s.

What is a tower house?

The commonest kind of Irish castle: a tall, narrow stone tower of three to six storeys, built as a defensible home rather than a garrison fortress. Thousands went up between roughly 1400 and 1650, by Gaelic lords and Anglo-Irish families alike.

Which county has the most castles?

On this map, Cork with 37, followed by Galway with 37. That reflects what is documented, not a survey of the ground — Cork and Galway are also the two largest counties.

Caisleáin na hÉireann

The castles of Ireland

354 castles in all 32 counties, each one placed on the map by its real coordinates. Norman keeps thrown up after 1169, tower houses raised by Gaelic lords, plantation castles, and a great many roofless walls standing in fields where nobody remembers who built them.

County by county

Ulster

Antrim Aontroim 15 castles Armagh Ard Mhacha 8 castles Cavan An Cabhán 3 castles Donegal Dún na nGall 11 castles Down An Dún 24 castles Fermanagh Fear Manach 9 castles Derry / Londonderry Doire 5 castles Monaghan Muineachán 3 castles Tyrone Tír Eoghain 8 castles

Munster

Clare An Clár 13 castles Cork Corcaigh 37 castles Kerry Ciarraí 14 castles Limerick Luimneach 14 castles Tipperary Tiobraid Árann 19 castles Waterford Port Láirge 6 castles

Leinster

Carlow Ceatharlach 9 castles Dublin Baile Átha Cliath 7 castles Kildare Cill Dara 13 castles Kilkenny Cill Chainnigh 15 castles Laois Laois 5 castles Longford An Longfort 3 castles Louth Lú 9 castles Meath An Mhí 13 castles Offaly Uíbh Fhailí 6 castles Westmeath An Iarmhí 12 castles Wexford Loch Garman 10 castles Wicklow Cill Mhantáin 2 castles

Connacht

Galway Gaillimh 37 castles Leitrim Liatroim 3 castles Mayo Maigh Eo 13 castles Roscommon Ros Comáin 4 castles Sligo Sligeach 4 castles

The list and the coordinates come from Wikipedia's county castle categories, and each castle's description is Wikipedia's own opening lines, used under CC BY-SA 4.0 and linked back to the article it came from. Castles with no documented location are not on the map — which means a good many real ruins are missing. Tell us about one →

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