Belleek Castle

County Mayo

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Take a fascinating tour of this restored castle, built between 1825 and 1831 on the site of a medieval abbey. The castle was bought in the 1960s by fossil collector Marshall Doran, who gave it an eclectic and eccentric interior, some of it nautical (including the Spanish Armada bar). The tour also visits the Banquet Hall and Marshall Doran's collection of fossils, weaponry and armour. En route you will also encounter the last wolf shot in Connaught.

To fully get in the castle mood, check in for the night, as the grand place also serves as a hotel; there's also a fine restaurant.

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