• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Michele Neylon :: Pensieri

Michele Neylon :: Pensieri

Technology, Marketing, Domains, Thoughts

Castles, so Many Castles

July 21, 2021 by Michele Neylon 1 Comment

This year’s July break is being spent in County Galway, close to Mayo. The cottage I rented via AirBnB is surrounded by fields and most of our neighbours are of the wooly variety.

While I have spent a lot of time in County Clare since I was very young I’ve never really spent time in this part of the country so there’s plenty of things to see that are new to me.

One thing, however, that I wasn’t aware of, was the sheer number of castles. There’s a lot. Originally there would have been hundreds and while many were reduced to rubble hundreds of years ago there’s still quite a few still standing. Sort of. I’ve always liked castles. So getting to see a few while on holiday is a nice bonus.

On this trip it looks like I’ll end up getting to see quite a few castles. Some are just mounds of stone at this stage, but others are in varying stages of decay.

Augnanure Castle

The Irish government owned and managed heritage sites are offering free admission for the rest of 2021, so there’s no excuse for not visiting some of the really interesting sites up and down the country. That includes the lovely Augnanure Castle, which we saw the other day and was the first one we went to on this trip is located near Oughterard.

Augnanure Castle must have been spectacular in its heyday. It’s still in fairly good condition with the main keep being pretty much 100% intact. Unfortunately many of the funkier parts of it are but memories now, but it’s still a truly impressive structure.

Augnanure Castle – inside the walls the guard tower and main building

There are plenty of other ruins of castles in various states of repair dotted around the area.

Annaghkeen Castle

Annaghkeen castle, for example, is mostly a castle shaped mound of stones at this stage. However its location down by the water is truly spectacular.

Another castle that is remarkably well preserved is Shrule Castle which still retains a lot of the finer details of the main keep.

Shrule Castle, Shrule, Co. Mayo

As we drive around Galway and Mayo I’m sure we’ll find more castles in various states so I’ll be sure to take more photos.

It’s a really attractive part of the country, so there’s plenty of things to take photos of!

Related Posts:

  • Donegal is the Destination for 2022's Week Away
    Donegal is the Destination for 2022's Week Away
  • A Few Resolutions for Lockdown 2.0
    A Few Resolutions for Lockdown 2.0
  • Matthew McConaughey on Uvalde Massacre
    Matthew McConaughey on Uvalde Massacre
  • The Garden's First Season Draws to a Close
    The Garden's First Season Draws to a Close
  • Chillis Planted. Fingers and Toes Crossed!
    Chillis Planted. Fingers and Toes Crossed!
  • Going Back on the Road Sort of
    Going Back on the Road Sort of

Filed Under: photography, travel Tagged With: castles, Galway, mayo, tourism, Travel and Tourism

Michele is founder and CEO of Irish hosting provider and domain name registrar Blacknight. Read More…

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Newsletter Signup

Join my newsletter

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!

dotblog founder

Most Recent Posts

Planning 2023’s Planting

The Last Blockbuster’s SuperBowl Ad

American English vs English

Aslan in the 1980s

Hans Zimmer on 60 Minutes


Mastodon

Archives

  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Pages

  • About Me
  • About This Site
  • Archives
  • Comments Policy
  • Contact Me
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy

Blogroll

  • Technology.ie Podcast
  • Blacknight Blog
  • My Mastodon
  • Tom Doyle
  • Gianni Ponzi

Footer

Site hosted in Ireland by Blacknight - Content copyright Michele Neylon

Copyright © 2023 · Magazine Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in