Someone once told me that this was not just one castle but two and since then I have been endlessly fascinated by this place.

Location: Continuing from Poulnabrone Dolmen (in the direction of Ennis) you will find the castle on the Y in the road.

Cost: Free.

Parking: Officially, no. But you can pull your car in on the right hand side to take some pictures. Be careful though as this is a busy junction and a popular spot for tourists.

Can I go in to the castle? The castle is a national monument so you can go in. However, it is also on private property and therefore always has cows in the field outside. There is nothing inside the castle, it is just the shell.

The story of the castle is a classic bachelor vs married man story. When you stand in front of the castle you will see that there is a skinny part on the right. That’s where Conor O Brien lived happily until he got married. Then he met a red head called Mary.

She came from Dysart O Dea castle where she was married to another man called Daniel Neylon. He came to an unfortunate end and she became a wealthy woman. But she wasn’t stupid and knew that she was nothing without a husband so off she went and married Conor. She was known for being way ahead of her time in terms of architecture and so his skinny little castle was no good to her. I mean, she had several children with Daniel Naylon and had several more with Conor O Brien so she needed the room!

Off she went and built a massive extension to the castle. This was really only the start of Conors troubles. Mary had an awful temper and was said to hang servants by their hair if they did not do what she told them. When Conor was killed in a battle, Mary is said to have married another 25 men, each for a year and a day and would then divorce them.

This is folklore and there are so many stories about Maire Rua ( Mary of the red hair) and Conor O Brien. Be sure to look on the internet for more information about this castle and how it might have looked in the 1600’s when it was an O Brien stronghold.