94 Iconic Buildings to Explore in Leinster

Checkout places to visit in Leinster

Leinster

Leinster is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial purposes. In later centuries, local government legislation has prompted further sub-division of the historic counties.

Iconic Buildings by destination

Activities Around

Iconic Buildings to Explore in Leinster

The Patrick Kavanagh Centre

A majestic building which is set up to commemorate the poet Patrick Kavanagh who is regarded as one of the foremost Irish poets of the 20th century. It tells the story of Inniskeen’s most famous son, Patrick Kavanagh, in a new and exciting way using immersive and interactive techniques to engage and inspire visitors.

The Shell Cottage

A irish homestead dating back to the 1700's stunningly decorated with over 50,000 sea shells.

The Tholsel

The Tholsel was a name traditionally used for a local municipal and administrative building used to collect tolls and taxes and to administer trade and other documents in Irish towns and cities. Towards the end of the 18th century the term tholsel was typically swapped for Market House with many of the administrative functions of the original tholsel transferring to another dedicated local council or government building such as a court or sessions house.

The Tholsel, Kilkenny

The Tholsel in Kilkenny is known as a tax office and was built in 1761. The building consisted of 5 arched arcades which served as a covered marketplace. Originally built to collect taxes, the place was used for many purposes including as a custom office and as a court house.Today the Tholsel is a platform for many exhibitions, street theatre and other cultural activities for which the centre is nicknamed as ‘Kilkenny’s Times Square’.

The Wonderful Barn

The Wonderful Barn in Ireland’s County Kildare is a distinctive, corkscrew-shaped building on the grounds of the Castletown House Estate. Based on the design of an Indian rice store, the 70ft-high conical grain store is encircled by a cantilevered staircase with a crow’s nest viewing gallery. The site stands next to a crescent-shaped piece of development land, where a housing project by Albany Homes was abandoned in the noughties.

Tinnahinch Castle

Tinnahinch Castle is a ruins in Kilkenny. It is situated northeast of Ballynakill, close to Duiske Abbey. It has a rectangular structure with a stair tower at the southwest angle, a machicolation between the angles of the two towers protecting the doorway, and a bartizan on the north east angle. All of the windows in the north wall have been stolen.

Townley Hall

Townley Hall is a magnificent Georgian mansion built just over 200 years ago on a hilltop setting. Today it is surrounded by 60 acres of rolling parkland overlooking the Boyne Valley, very close to the site of the famous battle. The house is now owned by the School of Philosophy and Economic Science, a registered charity based in Ballsbridge Dublin, who use it as a residential study centre.

Trim Castle

Trim Castle is the largest, best-preserved & most impressive Anglo-Norman castle in Ireland. It was built In 1172, shortly after the arrival of the Anglo-Normans in Ireland. King Henry II granted his baron Hugh de Lacy the Kingdom of Meath, along with custody of Dublin. Over a period of 30 years, it was built by Hugh de Lacy and his son Walter as the caput of the Lordship of Meath. The Irish Government currently own and are in charge of the care of the castle.

Trim castle river walk

Trim Castle is a popular spot, few visitors realise that there is a wonderful River Walk adjacent to the castle that is one of the nicest strolls in Ireland. The route is popular with locals. This tranquil river walk commences at Trim Castle and finishes at the ruins of the 13th century town of Newtown, providing a glimpse of life in Trim in the Middle Ages.

Tullynally Castle Gardens

This is a country house which was originally built in the mid 1650s. It is probably the largest castle in Ireland that is still used as a family home. The house is surrounded by twelve acres of parkland and gardens, including woodland gardens and walled gardens laid out in the early 19th century with a limestone grotto and ornamental lakes. It attracts a lot of tourists here and also it is a mindblowing location.

Wells House & Gardens

Wells House and Gardens is a Victorian tudor gothic country house museum, located around 7 km outside of Kilmuckridge, County Wexford.[1][2] It was designed by Daniel Robertson in the 1830s. It replaced the original house which was built in the late seventeenth century by the former Cromwellian army officer John Warren, and bought after his death by the eminent judge Sir Robert Doyne: the Doyne family lived here until 1964.

Whites Castle

White Castle was built in 1417 by Sir John Talbot the Viceroy of Ireland to protect the newly built bridge over the River Barrow. It is located in the centre of Athy, on the east bank of the River Barrow, overlooking Crom Abú Bridge.It is three-storey tower house with a battered base. On the right of the main doorway is a depiction of coat-of-arms of the Earl of Kildare.

Wicklow Gaol

A former prison located in the town of Wicklow, County Wicklow, Ireland. The prison was closed down by 1900 but reopened to hold republican prisoners during the Irish War of Independence and Irish Civil War; the last prisoners left in 1924. It was now a museum claiming to be one of the world's most haunted buildings, due to the long history of suffering associated with it. The prison was featured on a 2009 episode of Ghost Hunters International.

Woodville House and Gardens

Woodville House is a fine five bay, two storey over basement Georgian house dating from about 1800 situated above the river Barrow. The property was acquired by P J Roche, great grandfather of the present owner in 1876 and is now occupied by the 5th generation of Roches to live there.

Map of Iconic Buildings to explore in Leinster