56 Iconic Buildings to Explore in Ulster

Cloughoughter Castle is a ruined circular castle on a small island in Lough Oughter, 4 kilometres east of the town of Killeshandra in County Cavan, Ireland. It stands on a small island, scarce three hundred feet in diameter, just sufficient to contain the castle and a small margin of rock around it. The island stands in very deep water; the shores are a mile distant, wild, yet thickly wooded.

Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin is a new purpose built Irish language arts and cultural centre. It is part of the An Gaeláras group and opened premises in Great James Street, Derry. An impressive adddition to the city's skyline, it has become a beacon for language and culture enthusiasts, greatly enhancing access to services and facilities for the city’s Irish speaking community. It is also a symbol of the ongoing economic regeneration of the city.

Dan Winter’s House is located at the Diamond near the small town of Loughgall in County Armagh and is run by Hilda Winter who has maintained the cottage in its original condition. This small cottage museum is one of the hidden gems we come across from time to time, full of history and a place to see in Co Armagh. The Winter family lived in the house right up until the 1950s, and today its rooms are crammed with Orange & Winter ephemera.

Donegal Castle was once one of the most important strongholds for one of Ireland’s most powerful clans. The castle consists of a 15th-century rectangular keep with a later Jacobean style wing. The complex is sited on a bend in the River Eske, near the mouth of Donegal Bay, and is surrounded by a 17th-century boundary wall. There is a small gatehouse at its entrance mirroring the design of the keep.

Drumlane's round tower is an impressive historic monument located in a monastic site in Milltown, County Cavan. Founded in 555 AD by Saint Columba, the tower stands near an abbey and church and remains an enduring tourist attraction in Cavan today. All that remains today are the remains of a round tower and gothic style church from the medieval period.

Enniskillen Castle, situated beside the River Erne, was built almost 600 years ago by the ruling Gaelic Maguires. The historic site houses Fermanagh County Museum and The Inniskillings Museum. The castle remained in Irish hands until it fell to the crown's Irish ally, Niall Garve O'Donnell in the summer of 1602. Its award winning exhibitions cover the prehistory and natural history of Fermanagh, the county’s traditional rural life, local crafts and the celebrated pottery at Belleek.

Florence Court is a large 18th-century house and estate located 8 miles south-west of Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is set in the foothills of Cuilcagh Mountain. The house enjoys a peaceful setting in west Fermanagh, with a startlingly beautiful backdrop of mountains and forests. There are many glorious walks to enjoy, as well as fine vistas and play areas in the outstanding grounds.

Free Derry Corner is a historical landmark in the Bogside neighbourhood of Derry, Northern Ireland, which lies in the intersection of the Lecky Road, Rossville Street and Fahan Street. A free-standing gable wall commemorates Free Derry, a self-declared autonomous nationalist area of Derry that existed between 1969 and 1972. On the corner is a memorial to the 1981 hunger strikers and several murals.

Glenveagh Castle is a 19th century castellated mansion and was built between 1867 and 1873. Its construction in a remote mountain setting was inspired by the Victorian idyll of a romantic highland retreat. It is built in the Scottish baronial architectural style and consists of a four-story rectangular keep, surrounded by a garden, and a backdrop of some 165.4 km2 of mountains, lakes, glens and woods complete with a herd of red deer.

The Glenveagh Castle Gardens are part of Glenveagh National Park in the north west of County Donegal. The site occupied by the castle and gardens was formerly wild mountain moorland, with construction of the castle beginning in 1869 and the gardens in the mid 1880s. Tree rhododendrons and magnolias grace the woods with under-plantings of azaleas, hostas, astilbes and rodgersias.

This is a 19th-century country house situated in Gosford, a townland of Markethill, County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It was built for The 2nd Earl of Gosford, and designed in the Norman revival style by London architect Thomas Hopper. It is a Grade A listed building,and is said to be Ulster's largest. The Earls of Gosford occupied the castle until 1921, and the estate was later purchased by the Ministry of Agriculture to form Gosford Forest Park.

The Guildhall is a fine modern building, the chief treasures in which are the stained glass windows presented by the various London Companies that once owned land in Ireland. Fashioned in a neo-gothic style, the Guildhall is one of the most striking buildings in the North West and was originally built in 1887 by The Honourable The Irish Society. The red sandstone building is of neo-gothic architecture, with Tudor overtones.

A beautiful castle situated at the extreme seaward end of Inch Island. It was built in the middle of the fifteenth century but, by 1609, when granted to Sir Arthur Chichester, he stated that it was in a state of disrepair. It came to form part of the defensive network of O'Doherty fortifications designed to protect them from rival clans and to overawe those who accepted their overlordship.

Jordan's Castle is a castle situated in Ardglass, County Down, Northern Ireland. The tower house known as Jordan's Castle is a State Care Historic Monument sited in the townland of Ardglass, in the Newry, Mourne and Down District Council area, at grid ref: J5601 3713. It stands close to the junction of Kildare and Quay Streets in Ardglass and commands the harbour.

A beautiful tower house built between 1413 and 1441, reputedly by John Sely, bishop of Down. Features include a machicolation arch, projecting towers and spiral staircases.The castle is tall with four floors. The first floor is vaulted in stone, with two projecting turrets. One contains a spiral stair and the other a series of garderobes with access from three of the four floors These unusual features may have been a blueprint for those at Ardglass, Strangford and various other sites.

A majestic 17th century country house set in the heart of a 267-acre estate, nestled in the valley of the Lissan Water. It remained the home of the Staples family for nearly 400 years, reputedly the longest habitation by any single family of a country house in West Ulster.

This tower house was built after a petition to the Bishop of Down in 1570 by Captain Thomas Browne. iT commands a position at the north end of Mahee Island in Strangford Lough. Today, it is badly ruined but still of considerable interest. Visitors should park at Nendrum Monastic Site and walk back to the Castle.

Milford House was the one of its age. The most technologically advanced house in 19th century Ireland - the first in Ireland to be lit with hydro electricity. The creation of Robert Garmany McCrum, self made industrialist, benefactor and inventor who revolutionized the linen industry. His son William invented the penalty kick rule in football and his daughter Harriette was a founding member of the women’s suffragette movement in Ireland.

Castle Coole is a masterpiece of the purest Neo-classical building in Ireland. It was built to a design by James Wyatt between 1789 and 1795. Set in a 1,200-acre wooded estate, it is one of three properties owned and managed by the National Trust in County Fermanagh, the others being Florence Court and the Crom Estate. Castle It also has one of the finest basements in the National Trust.