Castle Ruins

The Midlands


To the west of the site, on the ridge near the car park, is a motte with the oddly shaped ruins of a 13th-century castle – also known as Clonmacnoise Castle – built by John de Grey, bishop of Norwich, to watch over the Shannon.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby The Midlands attractions

1. Visitor Centre

0.1 MILES

Three connected conical huts, echoing the design of early monastic dwellings, house the visitor centre museum. A 20-minute audiovisual show provides an…

2. O'Rourke's Tower

0.13 MILES

Overlooking the River Shannon is the 19.3m-high O'Rourke's Tower. Lightning blasted the top off the tower in 1135, but the remaining structure was used…

4. Bullaun

0.13 MILES

This bullaun has a diameter of around 0.3m and is located near the southwestern corner of Temple Doolin. It's an ancient grinding stone supposedly used…

7. Cathedral

0.15 MILES

The largest building at Clonmacnoise, the cathedral was originally built in AD 909, but was significantly altered and remodelled over the centuries. Its…

8. Temple Doolin

0.15 MILES

These remains of an 11th-century temple are similar to nearby Temple Hurpan.

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "ireland/county-offaly/clonmacnoise/attractions/castle-ruins/a/poi-sig/1521373/359743",
      "destination": "The-Midlands",
      "continent": "Europe",
      "country": "Ireland",
      "region": "The-Midlands",
      "position": "superzone"
    }