CASTLES COUNTY OFFALY

Kinnitty Castle is a neo-Gothic architectural gem set within 650 acres of private parkland in the foothills of the Slieve Bloom Mountains, County Offaly. Originally built by the Normans in the 13th century as a stronghold and later seat of the O'Carroll clan, the castle was extensively reimagined in 1811 by the renowned Pain Brothers, architects of Adare Manor, who designed its distinctive medieval revival style for Lady Catherine Hutchinson. Severely damaged in 1922 during the Irish Civil War, the castle was rebuilt in 1928 and later became a state property before transforming into a luxury 37-bedroom hotel in 1994. The castle features elegant accommodation, a Georgian-style 60-seat restaurant, a library bar housing a unique collection of antique books and journals, and an exquisite Louis XV drawing room.

Clonony Castle is a late medieval tower house built in 1500 by the MacCoughlan clan, standing approximately 15 metres tall in County Offaly. The fortification features classical tower house elements including machicolation, murder holes, gun-loops, and spiral staircases, surrounded by a bawn wall and formal entrance with smaller towers. Notably, the castle passed to Thomas Boleyn when Henry VIII sought to marry his daughter Anne, and Mary and Elizabeth Boleyn, second cousins to Queen Elizabeth I, lived here. Now a National Monument, the castle is easily accessible from Shannonbridge with roadside parking available.