6 castles, from Norman keeps to the tower houses that Gaelic and Anglo-Irish families raised in their hundreds — and the ones that are now four walls and a jackdaw.
Ballygunner Castle is a country house in the Ballygunner area of County Waterford in Ireland. It is believed to be built on the site of a former Viking stronghold. The main structure of the house includes a combination of medieval and 17th century building, with evidence of further modifications in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Gurteen de la Poer, or Gurteen le Poer, is an Elizabethan Revival house in County Waterford, Ireland, situated on the south bank of the River Suir, close to Kilsheelan and about 8 km east of Clonmel.
Clonea Castle was a castellated tower in County Waterford, Ireland. It was in Clonea parish in the historical barony of Decies-without-Drum in the south of the county. Located in Clonea Lower townland, roughly two and a half miles east of Dungarvan, the castle lay on a rocky outcrop at the edge of the shore by Clonea Beach.
Lismore Castle (Irish: Caisleán an Leasa Mhóir) is a castle located in the town of Lismore, County Waterford, Ireland. It belonged to the Earls of Desmond, the Earls of Cork, and then to the Cavendish family from 1753. It is currently the Irish home of the Duke of Devonshire.
Sleady Castle was built in 1628 by Philip McGrath. It is located in County Waterford, Ireland, approximately 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Lismore and Dungarvan. Both Lismore and Dungarvan have ancestral connections to the Clan McGrath.
Strancally Castle (from Irish Srón Chaillí, meaning 'nose of the hag') is a castellated country house in County Waterford, Ireland. It was built around 1827 near the site of an earlier castle overlooking the River Blackwater, close to the town of Tallow, County Waterford and Youghal, County Cork.
Descriptions are Wikipedia's own opening lines, used under CC BY-SA 4.0 with a link to each article; the list and the coordinates come from the same place. Nothing here is a guide to access — many of these are private homes or stand in private fields.
What stood in Waterford before anybody thought of building a keep.