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Photo: dougf, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Just across the boundary into County Laois, this sturdy five-storey tower was built in 1480 to control the Bealach Mor, the "great road" into Munster. It was damaged by Cromwell's forces in 1647 but restored in the 19th century. It was then used as a granary and again fell into disrepair until 1990, when it was refurbished as a private residence. Much of its medieval structure is well-preserved, including a "Sheela na Gig" who, with arms akimbo, looks like she's dancing a jig. Tours by arrangement, and you can rent the whole place: the castle sleeps 15 and the manor house five.
Ballaghmore is a small village located on the western side of County Laois, Ireland, southwest of Portlaoise. It is approximately 7 kilometres (4 mi) east of Roscrea. The village is in the civil parish of Kyle in the historic barony of Clandonagh.
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White tees 5862 yards, par 71.
Gym, weights, fitness classes, 25-m swimming pool with slides and kiddies and learner pools.
The castle was built in the 13th century on the orders of King John to replace an earlier wooden structure. There's a courtyard enclosed by a curtain wall but no keep - the main bastion is the tower house at the north gate, and there are round towers at the southeast and southwest corners. The south wall has gone. In 1728 a large mansion in Queen Anne style, Damer House, was built within the castle. 1960s developers thought it would be cool if this was demolished and replaced by a bacon factory, but the campaign to save the house was successful. You see the interior by guided tour. Castle admission includes the nearby Black Mills.
This is in County Offaly but Roscrea is the nearest town. It was built circa 1250 but expanded in the late 19th and early 20th century, when the lady of the house Mildred Darby wrote Gothic horror novels and energetically touted the notion that this was Ireland's most haunted castle. Certainly there have been enough terrible deeds here to fuel a blockbuster series: in the early 1900s an "oubliette" was found with many human skeletons impaled on spikes. The castle is owned by the musician Seán Ryan.