The River Nore does most of the work on this list. Kilkenny Castle stands over it in the middle of the city, seat of the Earls of Ormonde for centuries, with 21 hectares of Victorian parkland open free to walkers and state rooms of 17th-century art inside. Upstream in the north of the county, Ballyragget grew up around a five-storey Butler tower house set at the ford it once guarded; the castle is closed, but it reads clearly enough from the road and the riverbank.
South of the city, the two Thomastown ruins sit close together. Sweetman’s Castle, known locally as Mullin’s Castle, is a four-storey tower of around 1350 planted at the bridge in the centre of town, roofless and in poor repair, best looked at from the riverbank path and paired with the Grennan Loop and Jerpoint Abbey. Dysart Castle, where George Berkeley grew up, stands on a bend of the Nore nearby, private and closed, a few minutes at the roadside.
Shankill Castle at Paulstown is the one where you are shown around by the family who live there, past Elizabeth Cope’s paintings in the drawing room and out to the moated and walled gardens. The River Suir entry sits apart from the others, running down the southern side towards Waterford, its Blueway towpath flat and wheelchair-friendly for 21 km. The ruins keep no hours and suit any season; the gardens and parkland are better in the growing months.
The Ormonde seat in the middle of the city, with free parkland running down to the Nore and state rooms hung with 17th-century art.
A five-storey Butler tower house guarding an old ford on the Nore, closed to visitors but plainly seen from the road and the riverbank.
Largest of the Three Sisters, pairing a 53 km paddling trail with a flat 21 km towpath that threads Cahir and Ormond castles.
A roofless four-storey tower of about 1350 at the bridge in Thomastown, which once controlled the crossing and stored goods brought up by barge.
Childhood home of the philosopher George Berkeley, a crumbling tower on a bend of the Nore, private but visible from the road.
6 of 6 shown — tap a pin for the place.
Kilkenny, kilkenny
Once the seat of the powerful Earls of Ormonde, Kilkenny Castle now welcomes visitors to wander through its 21-hectare Victorian parkland and explore state rooms adorned with 17th-century art. The grounds, which overlook the River Nore, offer a free-access oasis for families and walkers, while the castle interior reveals centuries of Irish political history.
Ballyragget, kilkenny
Ballyragget is a small north Kilkenny town built around a five-storey Butler tower house and the River Nore ford it once guarded. The castle is closed to the public but visible from the road and riverbank, and the town runs on agriculture, including one of Europe's largest dairy plants.
Waterford, waterford
Rising on Devil's Bit Mountain and running 185 km to the sea at Waterford, the Suir is the largest of the Three Sisters. Its Blueway pairs a 53 km paddling trail with a flat, wheelchair-friendly 21 km towpath, threading Cahir Castle, Ormond Castle and Nash's Swiss Cottage along the way.
Summerhill, kilkenny
Sweetman's Castle, known locally as Mullin's Castle, is a four-storey tower house of around 1350, standing right at the bridge over the River Nore in the centre of Thomastown. It is a roofless ruin in poor repair, best seen from the riverbank path rather than entered, and it once controlled the crossing and stored goods brought up the river by barge. Pair it with the Grennan Loop walk and nearby Jerpoint Abbey.
Dysart, kilkenny
Paulstown, kilkenny
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