Ireland’s finest example of a ‘transitional castle’

Portumna Castle was built during a period when fortified tower houses were slowly transforming into large country manors. It was built for Richard de Burgo, the 4th Earl of Clanricarde, a man of great wealth and influence in both England and Ireland. The castle was designed to be  ‘aesthetically pleasing’ but still include defensive towers, gun loops, a grand front door, battlements -and floor openings where stones can be dropped on attackers! The de Burgos lived here for nearly 200 years until the castle was gutted by a fire in 1826. It remained as a roofless shell until very recently but since 1968, The OPW along with teams of skilled craftsmen & archeologists have carefully restored the 17th-century structure and gardens to their former glory.