Why are so many Irish castles in ruins?

Many castles found their demise after the Cromwellian invasion of Ireland. Cromwell's policy was to destroy the battlements of castles which of course were crucial to their defence, as well as the spiral staircases. With both of those actions, the castle was rendered useless.



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Most of the ruined castles were not damaged in battle. Many were “slighted”, partially demolished by government forces, to spoil them as fortifications that could be used by rebels. Others were simply abandoned in favour of more comfortable manor houses.

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There was no royalty in Ireland that was seen in other countries in Europe so castles were mainly built as large fortified homes for Clan chiefs or Anglo-Norman settlers who were trying to conquer Ireland at the time with many of them dating between the 11th and 15th century.

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Although Germany has the largest number of castles and Wales has the most castles per square mile, lots of European countries have some amazing castles.

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Ireland is known for its castles. The Normans built most of the castles in Ireland between the 11th and 15th century. Some of the castles are still in tact and found new purpose such as Smarmore Castle. There are tens of thousands of castles spread over Ireland, most of them are ruins, but still worth a visit.

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