Most of this list sits within half an hour of O’Connell Street. Dublin Castle is the anchor, a surviving medieval tower joined to Georgian State Apartments where presidents are inaugurated, with the Dubh Linn Gardens and the manuscript collections behind it. Six kilometres out, Drimnagh Castle keeps the only working water-filled moat left in Ireland, fed by the Bluebell stream; it opens weekday daytimes only and takes cash. Rathfarnham Castle, on the south side inside the M50, began in 1583 as an Elizabethan fortified house and was later softened into a Georgian mansion.
The rest run north. Swords Castle, ten kilometres up, was built around 1200 as a residence for the Archbishops of Dublin rather than a fortress, and entry is free. Malahide is 25 minutes out on the DART and has been a lived-in house since Richard Talbot was granted the land in 1185, with the Talbot Botanic Gardens and a butterfly house behind it. Ardgillan, at Balbriggan, is the furthest north and the one that needs a drive: 194 acres of coastal demesne, walled and rose gardens, and a sea view to Rockabill Lighthouse and the Mournes.
Two are outliers. Kilgobbin, above Stepaside in the south, is a ruined Walsh tower house on a windswept hilltop with a 1707 church and a high cross dug out of the graveyard in 1800. Luttrellstown, at Clonsilla, is a private estate that opens only for weddings and events.
Joins a surviving medieval tower to opulent Georgian State Apartments at the centre of the capital, still used for inaugurations and state banquets.
Held by the Talbot family for 791 years, so the 45-minute tour takes in a Great Hall of 1495 and the panelled Oak Room.
A 194-acre coastal demesne where the park, gardens and clifftop walks cost nothing, with a long sea view to Rockabill Lighthouse.
The only castle in Ireland still ringed by a working water-filled moat, with a great hall, vaulted undercroft and a murder hole.
A ruined Walsh tower house shares a windswept hilltop with a 1707 church and the National Monument high cross that justifies the climb.
11 of 11 shown — tap a pin for the place.
dublin, dublin
Dublin Castle sits at the centre of Ireland’s capital, blending a surviving medieval tower with opulent Georgian State Apartments. Visitors can wander the tranquil Dubh Linn Gardens, explore world-class manuscript collections, or step into the grand halls where presidents are inaugurated and state banquets are hosted.
Malahide, dublin
Richard Talbot was granted Malahide in 1185 and his family kept the castle for 791 years; the 45-minute tour takes in the Great Hall of 1495 and the panelled Oak Room. Behind the castle, the Talbot Botanic Gardens hold over 5,000 plant varieties plus Ireland's only butterfly house, and a fairy trail winds through the woods for children. Adult tickets are €17, and from November to March the last castle tour leaves at 3.30pm.
Balbriggan, dublin
Ardgillan is a 194-acre coastal demesne north of Dublin, built around an 18th-century house the Taylor family lived in for over 200 years. The park, gardens and clifftop walks are free; only the self-guided castle tour costs anything (€6 adult). The draw is the setting - walled and rose gardens, a wildflower meadow and a long sea view to Rockabill Lighthouse and the Mourne Mountains.
Drimnagh, dublin
Drimnagh Castle is the only castle in Ireland still ringed by a working, water-filled moat, fed by the Bluebell stream and crossed by a bridge of 1780. Inside the restored Norman stronghold are a great hall, a vaulted undercroft and a murder hole over the gate. It opens weekday daytimes only, cash only, six kilometres from Dublin city centre.
Stepaside, dublin
Three layers of history share one windswept hilltop above Stepaside: a ruined Walsh tower house, a high cross dug out of the graveyard in 1800, and a small 1707 church on a pre-Norman site. The cross, a National Monument, is the reason to climb up.
Clonsilla, dublin
Luttrellstown has had only seven owners in 600 years. Queen Victoria stayed in 1844 and again in 1900; David and Victoria Beckham married here in 1999. The 567-acre estate is now a private-hire castle resort with an 18-hole championship golf course, though the castle itself opens only for weddings and events.
Fingal, dublin
Malahide Castle was home to the Talbot family for nearly 800 years, and it shows – this is a lived-in house, not a reconstruction, set in 260 acres of gardens with a butterfly house and a fairy trail for children. The village around it has the beach, the marina and some of north Dublin's best restaurants, all a 25-minute DART ride from the city.
Rathfarnham, dublin
Rathfarnham Castle began in 1583 as an Elizabethan fortified house, its corner towers pierced with musket loops. In the 18th century Chambers and 'Athenian' Stuart softened it into a Georgian mansion of neoclassical plasterwork and painted ceilings, hung with portraits by Angelica Kauffman. It's a State-care monument now, with guided tours, gardens and playgrounds, minutes from the city.
Swords, dublin
Swords Castle was built around 1200 as a residence for the Archbishops of Dublin, not a fortress, and its pentagonal walls still enclose a restored chapel, a tower and a quiet courtyard. Entry is free, ten kilometres north of the city.
Various, dublin
Rathfarnham, dublin
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