13 fairytale castles in Ireland you can actually stay at

Once home to the Guinness family, this 800-year-old castle stay in County Mayo is the essence of old Ireland. Its 83 rooms and suites are decked out with lavish touches, such as silk wallpaper and antique writing desks, while the 140-hectare estate is home to a falconry centre and archery range. Inside, you can opt to watch a movie in the cinema or just lounge in the spa, which is set within a striking bronze conservatory. Many of the staff have worked here for decades, though the most popular characters are the two resident Irish wolfhounds; there’s always a gaggle of guests waiting to join them on their morning walk.

Booking information: Rooms from £462 per night, including breakfast; ashfordcastle.com

Sitting on the banks of the Owenmore River, this 18th-century castle is flanked by the peaks of the Twelve Bens, the jagged mountain range that snakes its way through Connemara in the west of Ireland. With antique furniture, grand drawing rooms and a fabulous walled garden, Ballynahinch has all the trappings of a classic castle escape. Allied to that is the welcoming feel of a country house: there are board games stacked by plush armchairs, smouldering turf fires and a boot room where you can grab a pair of Dubarry boots before taking a walk around the 16km of trails that wrap the estate’s 280 hectares.

Booking information: Rooms from £246 per night, including breakfast; ballynahinch-castle.com

Adare Manor, just south of Limerick, isn’t technically a castle, but with its Gothic parapets and limestone gargoyles, it sure feels like one. Upon walking into the lobby, you’re met by soaring stone arches, intricately carved wood and deep burgundy couches in soft velvet. As you might expect, the estate activities are the stuff of pure countryside fantasy, from falconry and whiskey tasting to horse-drawn carriage rides and gun-dog trials. The Oak Room, the main restaurant here, was awarded a Michelin star less than two years after opening, and the produce served there is impeccably sourced – the honey comes from the estate’s own bees, the seaweed is harvested locally and wild herbs are foraged onsite.

Booking information: Rooms from £460 per night, including breakfast; adaremanor.com

There’s a delightfully bonkers air to Castle Leslie in County Monaghan, where even the bathrooms come complete with eccentric touches, such as disco balls and toilet thrones. It is also home to the first ever plumbed bath in Ireland, which you’ll find in the Red Master Room – the wooden rim makes the perfect ledge for a glass of wine. The castle has been in the Leslie family since 1665 and it is filled with quirky memorabilia, including full suits of armour and the christening gown of Winston Churchill. The former Prime Minister was the first cousin once removed of Sir John Leslie, a colourful character affectionately known as Uncle Jack, who passed away aged 99 in 2016.

Booking information: Castle rooms from £264 per night, including breakfast; castleleslie.com

If you were to ask a child to draw a picture of a fairytale castle, it would look a lot like Cabra. Found on the edge of the Irish midlands, around an hour from Dublin, the building has a chequered history dating back to 1699. Destroyed during the Cromwellian War and later rebuilt in 1808 (when it was known as Cormy Castle), it was first turned into a hotel in 1964, then again when the current owners bought it some 27 years later. This sprawling space is filled with clashing patterns, portrait-packed drawing rooms and thick stone fireplaces. The more traditional bedrooms are found in the castle itself, while a slightly more modern look is given to those in the courtyard.

Booking information:Castle rooms from £227 per night, including breakfast; cabracastle.com

Set on its own private island, just a few miles outside of the city of Waterford, this castle stay is reached via a quick car-ferry transfer and is all the more charming for it. The island has seen a fair few residents over the years, from monks in the 6th century to Vikings in later years, while the local Fitzgerald family called it home for some eight centuries. The current ivy-clad building dates back to the 1500s and was refurbished back in 2015, with old furniture reupholstered and the stonework repointed. Though there are self-catering lodges on the island, the castle itself is home to just 19 rooms, all with a distinctly old-world charm – think clawfoot baths and brocade wallpaper.

Booking information: Rooms from £175 per night, including breakfast; waterfordcastleresort.com

Once home to the O’Briens of Dromoland, ancestors to one of the last High Kings of Ireland, this lakeside castle on the western coast lies just a few miles from the Shannon Estuary. The rooms are a little more contemporary in style than its long history might suggest, with clean lines and a soft colour palette, though the medieval aesthetic remains resolutely on show in the common areas. There’s also plenty to keep you occupied on the partially rewilded estate, whether you want to row out onto Dromoland Lough, try your hand at archery or cycle through the abundant woodland. It’s a setting that charms, with a beautiful walled garden to take in as well as an attractive yew tree gallery that dates back to 1740.

Booking information: Rooms from £445 per night, including breakfast; dromoland.ie

As one of Ireland’s lesser-known counties, Roscommon is a delight: a land of peaceful lakes, forests and rambling country estates. One of its star turns is Kilronan Castle, which was built by Colonel Edward King-Tenison, the 12th Earl of Kingston, in 1804. After falling into disrepair for a long time, the castle was purchased and refurbished in 2006, and it is now a fine property with period features and 16 hectares of woodland to explore. The Grecian-style spa is just one highlight; another is the food you’ll find served in the Douglas Hyde restaurant. The best seat in the house, however, is the cosy sofa next to the fireplace in the
drawing room. It’s perfect for cold winter nights.

Booking information: Rooms from £130 per night, including breakfast; kilronancastle.ie

If you’re going to stay in a castle, it pays to stay in one formerly owned by an avid collector of medieval armoury, fossils and countless other oddities. Marshall Doran bought the dilapidated Belleek Castle in 1961, after a career as an adventurer, sailor and smuggler. Now the castle is home to ten rooms and a museum dedicated to his collection, with Jurassic fossils, armour and weaponry on show. There’s a great casual restaurant in the courtyard, but the bar is particularly special, constructed from wood salvaged from shipwrecks, including relics from the Spanish Armada, which wrecked off the Irish coast.

Booking information: Rooms from £148 per night, including breakfast; belleekcastle.com

At the southern edges of Donegal, Lough Eske Castle has been hosting visitors since 1861, when it was built with hand-carved local stone. Perched on the edge of its namesake lake, the castle is surrounded by trails weaving through the woodland to the water’s edge. And when you want to warm yourself up, there’s a balmy indoor pool and thermal spa to retire to, set in an original Victorian glasshouse. There are bedrooms in the courtyard and in the garden, but the suites in the castle are best for that medieval feel, with mahogany four-poster beds and open fires to warm your bones.

Booking information: Castle rooms from £259 per night, including breakfast; lougheskecastlehotel.com

Built in the 15th century, Tubbrid Castle was originally designed to protect the territory of the Butlers of Ormond, who count among their number dukes, earls and a former Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Nowadays, the medieval tower house is used exclusively for private rentals, with three bedrooms sleeping up to eight people. The rooms are spectacular, with rough stone walls, exposed beams and four-poster beds; there’s also an extra-deep bathtub overlooking the Kilkenny countryside that makes for the perfect spot to relax. The castle is kept nice and toasty with a combination of wood-burning stoves and underfloor heating, which is powered by renewable energy.

Booking information: Rental from £1,517 for two nights, excluding breakfast; tubbridcastle.com

Neither strictly a hotel nor a castle, Helen’s Tower is nonetheless one of the more unusual accommodations in Ireland. Peeking through the trees of the Clandeboye Estate in County Down, it was built in 1848 and was once visited by the writer Alfred Tennyson, who wrote a poem dedicated to its charms. There are four storeys but the living room, with its deep, plush sofa sat in front of the fire, and the reading room, which is lined with intricately carved wood and brass plaques engraved with poetry (including Tennyson’s, of course), are the most enchanting rooms. There are also great views from the roof, where you can head for a glass of wine come sunset.

Booking information: Rental from £296 for two nights, excluding breakfast; irishlandmark.com

As the only castle hotel in Kerry, Ballyseede somewhat stands out. Its main building dates back to 1721 and boasts one thing many other properties don’t possess: a resident ghost. Hilda Blennerhassett’s family had resided on the estate since 1590, before the castle was even built; their time there ended with her death in 1965 and her ghost is said to have roamed the building ever since. Ghoulishness aside, there’s plenty of old-world charm to discover, with a firelit drawing room downstairs and Victorian clawfoot bathtubs in the rooms. As a bonus, the estate lies just outside the town of Tralee, so the gorgeous Slea Head Peninsula is also right on your doorstep.

Booking information: Rooms from £173 per night, including breakfast; ballyseedecastle.com