Ballyportry Castle

General information

Ballyportry Castle is a medieval tower house just outside Corofin in Co. Clare, Ireland. It is one of the finest and well preserved tower houses in Co. Clare.

History

Ballyportry Castle was built by a branch of the O’Brien family. It remained occupied until 17th century.

In 1961, a New York architect bough the ruins of the castle only to have spent the next 20 years restoring the castle to its present glory.

The present owners, Patrick and Siobhan Wallace, acquired the castle in 1999 and carried out extensive works to preserve the castle.

Putting it on the map

Getting there

Ballyportry is a mile from the village of Corofin in County Clare, on the Corofin-Gort road. It will take you about an hour to get there from Shannon airport by car, about the same from Limerick and Galway. Traveling by car from Dublin will require 4 hours or so.

Accommodation

Ballyportry Castle offers self-catering stays but catered service can be arranged.

The castle itself is a four-story tower within a wall yard. The tower consists of fully restored spiral stone stairs.

There are four main living levels in Ballyportry Castle, with 6 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms suitable for 4-8 guests.

Ground level of the tower houses a kitchen and a dining room, while second kitchen and a great hall are found on the top floor. The great hall has a fine fireplace and is overlooked by a balcony from which there is access to the roof. A tiny garden on the rooftop has great views of surrounding stone hills of the Burren.

If you’re not interested in cooking, arrangements can be made to have your meals prepared by local chefs.

The 6 bedrooms are two master ones with king-size beds and four smaller ones.

Activities

Site-seeing

Ennis is the nearest town to the castle, only 20 minutes away if you’re driving. Beach at Lahinch and the wondrous Cliffs of Moher are 45 minutes away.