Lismore (Ireland)

The castle itself is not open to the public, though you can hire it for a suitable fortune. It's a mock-Gothic 19th-century concoction, home to the Dukes of Devonshire. Previous buildings here were a 7th-century abbey, a Norman fort guarding the river crossing, the property of Sir Walter Raleigh, the aristocratic birth place of chemist Robert Boyle, and a charred ruin after an anti-Cromwell army came a-calling. You visit for the gardens: the lower gardens were laid out along with the present castle, though the yew avenue is much older. There are bosky walkways, lawns and flowers. The walled upper garden is 17th century, with a mix of decorative borders, fruit, vegetables and potherbs. Dogs are permitted but must be kept on a lead. Admission also includes the Castle Arts Centre.

These are a Victorian folly, a pair of grandiose Gothic entrance lodges linked by a bridge over a dell. They graced the driveway to Ballysaggartmore House, which was plain by comparison; probably the owner intended to replace it with an even grander mansion but the money ran out. The house was burned down during the Irish Civil War and the site was later cleared. Follow R666 to the parking bay and picnic tables then walk along the loop trail through the forest to the towers.

The mansion was built in 1779, burned down in 1923 in the Civil War, but rebuilt. There are extensive landscaped gardens. The Estate also offers self-catering accommodation.

Mansion built in the 1780s, though what's left nowadays is just one wing of a vast pile. Its most remarkable feature is the 19th-century Hindu-Gothic gate, which you pass through on the lane from Cappoquin.

Mansion and extensive garden constructed in 1840, home of the Jameson whiskey family.

This Cistercian Trappist monastery was founded by monks fleeing France in 1830. Construction took a century, with the last phase using limestone recycled from Mitchelstown Castle, which had been burned down by the IRA. The monastery closed in 2025 and the monks transferred to Roscrea. The future of the building is not yet known.