Irish Castle

Irish castle design has fascinated and confounded the inhabitants of Ireland for nearly a thousand years. Since the establishment of Norman settlements in the 11th century, when wooden structures gave way to more defensible stone fortifications, the Irish castle has provided safety for families and forces. The castle fortifications provided the basis for the emergence of centres of power and attractive ruins.

Each and every Irish castle is unique: built on promontories or on a flat expanse, on an island or among the forested hills of Ireland. The setting and materials used to construct each castle mark them out as individuals, even though there will be those who say "When you've seen one Irish castle, you've seen them all!" This is not the case.

There is no such thing as a typical Irish castle. There are mock Irish castle ruins, created to fool the eye, there are real Irish castle ruins such as Dunluce Castle and Tully Castle.

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