85 Iconic Buildings to Explore in Munster

Desmond Castle in Kinsale dates from around 1500. It is a classic urban tower house, consisting of a three-storey keep with storehouses to the rear. It served as a prison in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Its restored medieval features include and oak musicians' gallery and a limestone hooded fireplace.

Dún na Séad castle was built in 1215 and has had a long and fascinating history. It fell into a ruined state in the middle of the seventeenth century. The tower house is built on the site of an earlier Norman-era structure, which itself replaced an earlier Bronze Age ringfort. Traditionally associated with the O'Driscoll family, it was purchased and restored by members of the McCarthy family in the late 1990s, and partially opened to the public from 2005.

Castle Oliver is nestled between two unspoiled country villages, Ardpatrick and Ballyorgan. It has a ballroom, drawing room, library, morning room, dining room and hall which feature hand-painted ceilings, decorated ornamental corbels, superbly executed stained glass windows and stencil work. Built with Red Sandstone in the Scottish Baronial style, Castle Oliver is a comfortable residence and an elaborate party venue.

Castle Otway was the family home of Admiral Sir Robert Waller Otway. This former 18th-century country house which stood on a hill on the outskirts of Templederry, near Nenagh in County Tipperary, Ireland. The house was built in stone up against the ruins of Cloghane Castle in two storeys with a 7-bay frontage, of which the middle three were pedimented. It now stands as a derelict ruin with the gardens and estate land used for farming.

Castledonovan is a townland in Dromdaleague, which lies on a rock on the east bank of the River Ilen in the townland of the same name, in County Cork in Ireland. Approximately 60 feet in height, it sits on a large rock or outcropping, which forms the ground floor, close to the bank of the River Ilen. The Castle was divided into various chambers or rooms. One room was set aside in the old days for food for the garrison and another store room for gunpowder and shot.

A majestic castle located in Clonea Lower townland, roughly two and a half miles east of Dungarvan, the castle lay on a rocky outcrop at the edge of the shore by Clonea Beach. It was owned by the Maguire. The structure's entry in National Monuments Service records indicate that it was "not an antiquity", but was built in the late 18th or early 19th century, possibly on the site of an earlier Fitzgerald family fortification.

The Cobh Heritage Centre is a museum located in Cobh, County Cork, Ireland. It is attached to Cobh railway station. It has held exhibits on life in Ireland through the 18th and 19th centuries, mass emigration, the Great Famine, on penal transportation to Australia, and on the sinking of the RMS Lusitania. The centre is a tourist destination, including with visitors from cruise ships, which often dock in Cobh. The centre has two onsite gift shops and a café.

Craggaunowen is a 16th-century castle and an archaeological open-air museum in County Clare, Ireland. It was built around 1550 by John MacSioda MacNamara, a descendant of Sioda MacNamara, who built Knappogue Castle in 1467. The open-air museum was started by John Hunt. It features reconstructions of ancient Irish architecture, including a dolmen, a crannog, and the currach boat used in Tim Severins recreation of "The Voyage of St. Brendan the Abbot".

Derrynane House was the home of Irish politician and statesman, Daniel O'Connell. It is now an National Monument and part of a 320-acre national historic park. The house is located on the Iveragh peninsula on the Ring of Kerry near the village of Derrynane in County Kerry, Ireland. The house displays relics of O'Connell's life and career. Guided tours of the house are available, along with a visual presentation. Access for visitors with disabilities is limited to the ground floor.

Desmond Castle in Kinsale dates from around 1500. It is a classic urban tower house, consisting of a three-storey keep with storehouses to the rear.It served as a prison in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Because it usually held French inmates, as well as Spaniards, Portuguese, Dutch and Americans, it became known locally as the French Prison and carries that name to this day.

Desmond Castle is on Cork Street in Kinsale County Cork and was built as a custom house by the Earl of Desmond around 1500. It has had a colourful history, ranging from Spanish occupation in 1601 to use as a prison for captured American sailors during the American War of Independence. The castle was also used as a borough jail from 1791 to the onset of the Great Famine when it was used as an auxiliary workhouse tending to the starving populace.

Dinis Cottage on Dinis Island in Killarney National Park looks out over the Middle Lake and was built by the Herberts who at one time owned the lands that are now part of Killarney National Park . The cottage has been described as a hunting lodge and a woodcutter’s hut and dates back to the 1700s. It provides a tempting stop-off for the many visitors, walking the popular Muckross and Dinis 10km circular trail through the National Park and taking in Torc Waterfall.

This is a majestic 17th century country house in the Republic of Ireland which stands in 160 hectares of walled parkland near the town of Doneraile in County Cork. It remained the seat of the St Leger family from that time until the mid-20th century. The grounds in the vicinity of the house is laid out in the style of Capability Brown whilst the deer park contains Killarney Red, Sika and Fallow deer and the meadows a herd of Kerry cattle.

Doonagore Castle is a superb 16th century Irish castle, located on the oceanfront in County Clare, less than a kilometre from the village of Doolin. The castle is a round tower house with a small courtyard enclosed by a defensive wall. With its elevated position overlooking Doolin Point, the castle serves as a navigational landmark for boats approaching Doolin Pier.

Doonbeg Castle stands at the bottom of a little bay about three miles south of Tromra. It is in good preservation and partly inhabited by a poor family - about six miles north west of Kilrush. It is an iconic attraction in this area and there are so many things to see and do here.

Dromana Gate is a striking Hindu-Gothic gate lodge and was the entrance to Villierstown and the Dromana estate. Henry Villiers Stuart inherited the estate in the early part of the 18th century and in 1826 married an Austrian widow known as Theresia Pauline Ott of Vienna.The Gate-Lodge comprises of a central pointed archway topped with an onion dome and two side chambers, each with four windows and a fireplace.

This castle began as a 13th-century hall house and was later converted into a tower house in the 15th/16th century. It was built by the followers of Thomas Butler Esq. in the 13th century. The hall house was originally only two storeys high, but two additional storeys were later added, and vaults added to the ground floor. A base batter is present and can be attributed to the earlier structure.

Dysert O’Dea Castle and Archaeological Centre in Corofin is known for its wealth of historical and archaeological remains. Built in 1480 the castle is now an archaeological centre with more than twenty five archaeological and historical sites. The centre has a modern history room, 1700 AD to 2000 AD, a museum of local artefacts from 1000 BC to 700 AD, an audio visual presentation and a Roof Wall Walk.

A beautiful Meditation Retreat centre situated on the wild and beautiful Beara Peninsula in south-west Ireland. It sits high on cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean with breathtaking views of sea and sky. It is home to the Spiritual Care Centre, which was opened by Mary McAleese on 12 September 2007.

Eask Tower is an 18th century stone tower that was built as a beacon for guiding ships coming into Dingle bay. It overlooks the small fishing port of Dingle and seems to silently watch over the ocean, and its approaching boats. The Tower is of solid stone. The building of it on Carhoo hill, 600 feet above sea level, provided work during the Great Famine, at the instigation of Reverend Charles Gayer, Leader of the Protestants, in an attempt to win converts.