On the map above:
blue: places to visit that are not section 482
purple: section 482 properties
red: accommodation
yellow: less expensive accommodation for two
orange: “whole house rental” i.e. those properties that are only for large group accommodations or weddings, e.g. 10 or more people.
green: gardens to visit
grey: ruins
Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow are the counties that make up the Leinster region.
As well as places to visit, I have listed separately places to stay, because some of them are worth visiting – you may be able to visit for afternoon tea or a meal.
For places to stay, I have made a rough estimate of prices at time of publication:
€ = up to approximately €150 per night for two people sharing (in yellow on map);
€€ – up to approx €250 per night for two;
€€€ – over €250 per night for two.
For a full listing of accommodation in big houses in Ireland, see my accommodation page: https://irishhistorichouses.com/accommodation/
donation
Help me to pay the entrance fee to one of the houses on this website. This site is created purely out of love for the subject and I receive no payment so any donation is appreciated!
€15.00
Offaly:
1. Birr Castle, Birr, Co. Offaly
[at some time, to re-open to the public, the gardens at Bellefield – see Robert O’Byrne’s blog: https://theirishaesthete.com/2022/05/02/bellefield/
2. Charleville Forest Castle, Tullamore, County Offaly – sometimes open to the public
3. Clonony Castle, County Offaly (check before visiting – I am not sure if it is still open to the public)
4. Crotty Church, Castle Street, Birr, Co. Offaly
5. Gloster House, Brosna, Birr, Co. Offaly
6. High Street House, High Street, Tullamore, Co. Offaly
7. Leap Castle, County Offaly
8. Loughton, Moneygall, Birr, Co. Offaly
9. Springfield House, Mount Lucas, Daingean, Tullamore, Co. Offaly
Places to stay, County Offaly
1. Ballynacard House, Birr, County Offaly €
2. Kinnity Castle (formerly Castle Bernard), Kinnity, County Offaly €€
3. Loughton House, County Offaly
4. The Maltings, Castle Street, Birr, Co. Offaly
Whole house rental, County Offaly:
1. Ballycumber, County Offaly – whole house rental (13 guests)
2. Loughton House, County Offaly
Places to visit in County Offaly:
1. Birr Castle, Birr, Co. Offaly
Open dates in 2025: May 16-17, 19-24, 26-31, June 2-7, 9-14, 16-21, 23-28, 30, July 1-5, 7-12, 14-19, 21-26, 28-31, Aug 1-2, 4-9, 11-30, Sept 1-6, 11am-3pm
Fee: adult €12.50, OAP/student €11, child 7, family 2 adults and 2 children €34, guided castle tour €22
See my entry https://irishhistorichouses.com/2025/07/21/birr-castle-county-offaly-section-482/
2. Charleville Forest Castle, Tullamore, County Offaly – sometimes open to public
http://www.charlevillecastle.ie/
Charleville Castle was built 1800-1812 for Charles William Bury (1764-1835), later 1st Earl of Charleville, and was designed by Francis Johnston.
Mark Bence-Jones writes (1988):
p. 82. “(Bury/IFR) The finest and most spectacular early C19 castle in Ireland, Francis Johnston’s Gothic masterpiece, just as Townley Hall, County Louth, is his Classical masterpiece. Built 1800-1812 for Charles William Bury, 1st Earl of Charleville, replacing a C17 house on a different site known as Redwood. A high square battlemented block with, at one corner, a heavily machicolated octagon tower, and at the other, a slender round tower rising to a height of 125 feet, which has been compared to a castellated lighthouse. From the centre of the block rises a tower-like lantern. The entrance door, and the window over it, are beneath a massive corbelled arch. The entire building is cut-stone, of beautiful quality.” [2]
Mark Bence-Jones continues:
“The interior is as dramatic and well-finished as the exterior. In the hall, with its plaster groined ceiling carried on graceful shafts, a straight flight of stairs rises between galleries to piano nobile level, where a great double door, carved in florid Decorated style, leads to a vast saloon or gallery running the whole length of the garden front.”
The house stood almost empty, with a caretaker, for years. When Charles Kenneth died in 1963, the property passed to a cousin, the grandson of the 3rd Earl’s sister with whom he had quarrelled. She had married Edmund Bacon Hutton and her grandson William Bacon Hutton legally changed his surname to Hutton-Bury when he inherited in 1964. The castle remained empty, until it was leased for 35 years to Michael McMullen in 1971. It had been badly vandalised at this stage. He immediately set to restore the castle.
More repairs were carried out by the next occupants, Bridget “Bonnie” Vance and her parents, who planned to run a B&B and wedding venue. Today the castle is run by Charleville Castle Heritage Trust.
3. Clonony Castle, County Offaly – for sale May 2023, I am not sure if still open to the public
https://www.visitoffaly.ie/Things-to-do/Culture-Heritage/Clonony-Castle/
The website tells us:
“Clonony Castle, built in the 1490’s by the Coghlan Clan, was seized by Henry VIII during the war of dominion by England. He ceded it to Thomas Boleyn, making him the Earl of Ormond, his daughter, the ill-fated Ann, a countess and marriageable by a king. When Henry tired of Ann and the Boleyns fell from grace, two ladies, Mary and Elizabeth, were sent back to Clonony and remained for the rest of their lives. Their tombstone lays beneath a tree in the castle bawn.
“Following the ladies demise, a merchant, Sir Matthew de Renzi, wrote to Queen Elizabeth of the great significance of the castle and begged to be awarded it. These DeRenzi letters have become very important as they tell us what life was like in the 16th Century in the midlands. Possessing a great facility for language, speaking and trading with many countries, he wrote the first English/Irish dictionary.
“Today the castle has been sensitively restored to reflect the way of life through this historical period and now is open to the public casually from 12 to 5 on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through summer and anytime by appointment on 0877614034. There is no fee, but donations toward the maintenance of the castle is greatly appreciated. In June, the castle will open on weekends for glamping (glamourous camping). Early booking is essential.”
4. Crotty Church, Castle Street, Birr, Co. Offaly
Open dates in 2025: Jan 1- Dec 31, Mon-Fri, excluding Bank Holidays, National Heritage Week Aug 16-24, 12 noon-5pm [caution: when we visited during Heritage Week 2024, it was not open]
Fee: Free
See my entry https://irishhistorichouses.com/2024/11/14/crotty-church-birr-county-offaly-section-482/
5. Gloster House, Brosna, Birr, Co. Offaly
Open dates in 2025: Jan 2-29, Mon-Fri, May 1-31, Aug 16-24, 9am-1pm
Fee: adult/child €10, OAP/student €8
The Historic Houses of Ireland website tells us:
“Just east of the road between Birr and Roscrea, Gloster is County Offaly’s most important remaining eighteenth century house. The formal facade, overlooking the steeply terraced garden, is unusually long and low, and is very grand. Thirteen bays wide and two stories high, the house is constructed in blue-grey limestone with a wealth of early architectural details in warm contrasting sandstone. The interior is equally splendid, especially the two principal rooms; the richly decorated double-height entrance hall and the great barrel-vaulted hall, or landing, on the piano nobile.“
The Lloyd’s ancestor came to Ireland from Denbighshire, to serve in the army of King Charles I, and he acquired the estate in 1639 through marriage with an heiress, Margaret Medhop. Presumably they and their descendants lived in an earlier dwelling, of which no trace remains, until the present house was completed sometime after 1720. The architectural historian Maurice Craig, who edited the book of Pearce’s drawings, observed that, “Gloster has features which can hardly derive from anyone other than Sir Edward Lovett Pearce” (c.1699-1733). Craig also believed that, while Pearce may well have provided a design for his cousin, Trevor Lloyd, he almost certainly left the execution to others since “for all its charm, it is provincial in almost every respect”.
Pearce began work in Ireland in 1724 under Alessandro Galilea on Castletown House, in County Kildare. He later designed Parliament House in College Green in Dublin.
Trevor Lloyd and Rose Medhop had a son and named him Medhop Lloyd (c. 1670-1734). He married into the Lovett family, marrying Mary, daughter of Christopher Lovett, who at one time held the position of Lord Mayor of Dublin.
The Gloster we see today was built by the son of Medhop and Mary, Trevor Lloyd (d. 1747). His mother Mary was the sister of Frances Lovett, who married Edward Pearce (1658-1715), and Frances and Edward were the parents of architect Edward Lovett Pearce. Therefore Lovett Pearce was a first cousin of Trevor Lloyd (d. 1747), who inherited the property.
We visited Gloster House in County Offaly in February 2023. I was excited to see it after looking at pictures on Robert O’Byrne’s blog. Previously it had been a school, purchased by an order of nuns in 1958. The nuns ran the house as a convalescent home. To its rear they erected a chapel and school buildings to accommodate a female boarding school. Nearly all of the farm buildings were demolished to allow for these new buildings, but the original house survived conversion to an institution reasonably well apart from the destruction of a complete wing on the north-western elevation. The order of nuns left Gloster in 1990 and following two subsequent changes of owners, in 2001 it became the property of Tom and Mary Alexander, who moved from Dublin to Birr. They have been working on the restoration of Gloster ever since.
The house and gardens are available as an exclusive private venue for corporate functions, family celebrations and weddings. It is also a home to the Alexander family.
The Gloster website tells us that the present house is thought to date from between 1700 and 1720, and it is possible that a house existed on the same site at Gloster from 1639.
In Great Irish Houses (with forewards by Desmond FitzGerald and Desmond Guinness published by IMAGE Publications in 2008) we are told that King Charles I granted lands at Gloster to the Medhop family. “Gloster” is a derivative of Glasderrymore, meaning the big green wood.
The Historic Houses of Ireland website continues: “The central breakfront is relatively plain, apart from the typically 1700s hooded door case with pilasters to either side, while two recessed bays at either end of the facade are treated as wings, with Pearcean blind niches in place of windows on the upper storeys. Meanwhile the three intervening bays to either side are further divided by vertically paired pilasters, Doric below the string course and Corinthian above, and their positions are reflected in the cornice, the parapet and in the intervals of the balustrade.
“Inside, the elaborate double-height entrance-hall has a series of bust-filled niches while there is very grand upper hall on the piano nobile. This is approached by twin staircases and overlooks the entrance-hall though a series of round-headed openings with a profusion of architectural detail.
“Samuel Chearnley may have had a hand in designing the gardens, which contain a canal, a lime avenue and a pedimented arch, flanked by obelisks in the manner of Vanburgh, while a series of later terraces in front of the house descend to a small lake.“
The Dictionary of Irish Architects tell us Chearnley became a protégé of Sir Lawrence Parsons of Birr, Co. Offaly, where he died in 1746, aged only 29. Between October 1745 and May 1746 he produced a manuscript set of designs for garden buildings, which he entitled ‘Miscelanea Structura Curiosa’. Most of the designs were his own, though five were conceived by Parsons and merely drawn up by him.
The Historic Houses of Ireland website continues: “Gloster was sold in 1958 and became a convent and nursing home, with a new school complex built on the site of the former stables. The school closed shortly after 1990 and the house fell into considerable disrepair. Happily Tom and Mary Alexander purchased the house and have carried out a thorough and sympathetic restoration.
Famous visitors to Gloster include John Wesley, who preached here in 1749, while the famous Australian “diva” Dame Nellie Melba sang from the gallery in the upper hall early in the 20th century.” [6]
The Gloster website tells us: “The interiors of Gloster House, some with elaborate plaster panelling to the walls and others with timber mouldings, appear to be early-to-mid-eighteenth century. However work could have been carried out to the house during the nineteenth and early-twentieth century, successively by Hardress Lloyd (d.1860), his son John Lloyd (d.1883) and his grandson Brigadier-General John Hardress Lloyd (d.1952).“
John (c. 1753-1811) was a son of Trevor Lloyd and Henrietta Waller. He married Jane Le Hunt (d. 1822), daughter of Thomas Le Hunt, of Artramon, County Wexford. The website tells us that throughout the nineteenth century Lloyd successors perpetuated at Gloster, variously as MPs (Members of Parliament), JPs (Justices of the Peace) and in the military.
John and Jane’s daughter Alice (d. 1867) married Laurence Parsons (1758-1841) 2nd Earl of Rosse of Birr Castle. Her sister Harriet married Reverend Henry King of Ballylin County Offaly (now gone but gates remain).
John and Jane’s son Hardress Lloyd (d.1860) was for some years Lieutenant-Colonel of South Down Militia and MP for King’s County (County Offaly) 1807-16. Colonel Lloyd died unmarried but had a son, John Lloyd (d. 1883). John married Susanna Frances Julia (1850-1886), second daughter of John Thomas Rossborough Colclough of Tintern Abbey, County Wexford (see my entry about OPW properties in County Wexford), in 1872, and they had many children. John was Deputy Lieutenant and High Sheriff of King’s County in 1866.
Their son Brigadier-General John Hardress Lloyd, a distinguished World War I general, married Adeline Wilson, an Australian heiress, in 1903. They met in India, where she was sent to meet a husband. The website tells us that this marriage injected substantial financial benefits into the estate which resulted in a certain degree of internal remodelling of the house and a major enhancement of the gardens.
Adeline died in 1933, the General in 1952. As they had no children the estate devolved to their nephew Major Evan Talbot Trevor Lloyd (1919-1964). He was the son of John and Susanna Frances Julia’s son Evan Colclough Lloyd (1877-1945).
Evan Talbot Trevor Lloyd sold the house to the nuns in 1958. The Lloyds are buried at Ettagh cemetery and a fine monument stands there as a reminder of their legacy.
6. High Street House, High Street, Tullamore, Co. Offaly, R35 T189
Open dates in 2025: Jan 6-31, Mon -Fri, May 2-19, Aug 16-24, Sept 1-24, 9.30am-1.30pm
Fee: adult/student €10, OAP €5, child under 12 years free
7. Leap Castle, County Offaly
https://www.visitoffaly.ie/Things-to-do/Culture-Heritage/Leap-Castle/
“Sean Ryan of Leap Castle, insisted that he doesn’t fabricate when telling the story of what he and his wife see and hear at their home. Where most would refer to these apparitions as ghosts, Sean prefers to call them spirits. He describes the regular visions as people with a haze around them. Sometimes there is a lot of activity; other times less so. The sounds they hear are footsteps, doors opening and closing and crowds talking. However, on occasions that he has gone in the direction of the noise, nothing is apparent there, with the location of the spirits always out of reach. There is spirit, though, a lady, who touches off people. A lot of guests to the castle have also felt her presence. The remarkable thing Sean told us was that this experience never seems to alarm his guests, rather they always remain very calm, something that surprises them! Sean doesn’t regard his home as haunted and, as far as he is concerned, the spirits he sees and hears have as much right to live there as he does. Sean is happy to continue to live alongside them as he has done since 1994, when restoration on the castle began.“
The Leap Castle website gives us more information: http://leapcastle.net
Built in the early 1500’s under the supervision of the powerful and warring O’Carroll clan, Leap Castle has been the centre of much bloodshed.
“The O’Carrolls were a fierce and brutal clan, continually struggling for power and supremacy. They were known to be particularly violent and cunning in the attempts for domination. John O’Carroll was thought to be the first Prince of Ely who lived at Leap Castle. It is very probable that it was he who was responsible for the construction of the earliest sections of Leap Castle. John O’Carroll died at Leap Castle, suffering from the plague. John O’Carroll was succeeded by his son named Mulrony O’Carroll.
Mulrony O’Carroll was renowned for his strength, bravery and valour and was considered a great leader. The Great Mulrony as he was known died (most likely) at Leap in 1532 after a rulership of forty two years. Mulrony was succeeded by his son Fearganhainm.“
The website continues with the history of one brother after another killing each other for supremacy.
The website tells us:
“In 1629 John O’Carroll, nephew of Charles O’Carroll was given the official ownership of the Leap Estate. The year 1649 the property of Leap Castle was handed over to the first of the Darby line, Jonathon. He was a soldier of the Cromwellian forces and was handed the property and land in lieu of pay.
“1664 saw the property handed back to John O’Carroll due to his continued loyalty to Charles the 1st. This arrangement was unfortunately reversed in 1667 due to the differing views of Charles the 2nd. The Leap Castle was once again back in the hands of the Darbys.“
“Jonathon Darby the 2nd, a Cromwellian soldier obtained Leap Castle in 1649. This was lieu of payment for his services. Jonathon and his wife Deborah had a son also named Jonathon.“
The estate was passed through a line of Jonathan Darbys.
“Jonathon Darby the 5th maintained the Leap Estate until his death in 1802. As Jonathon fathered no male children, Leap Castle was passed on to his younger brother Henry.
“Henry d’Esterre Darby, born in 1750 climbed through the Naval ranks to become Admiral Sir Henry d’Esterre Darby in 1799. Henry died in 1823 bearing no children of his own. Upon Henry’s death, the Leap Castle estate was inherited by his brother John Darby.
“John Darby married Anne Vaughan and died in 1834. He was succeeded by their sons William Henry, Christopher, George, Susan, Jonathon, Horatio d’Esterre, John Nelson and Sarah Darby.
“William Henry Darby inherited Leap Castle died in 1880. His eldest son had died in 1872 aged 45 so the Leap Estate was passed on to his grandson Jonathon Charles Darby.
“Jonathon married Mildred Dill aka Mildred Darby in 1889.“
“In the early hours of Sunday morning, 30 July 1922 a party of eleven raiders set fire to the Leap totally destroying the North and larger wing and its valuable contents. Giving evidence in the claims court Richard Dawkins said that on 30 July 1922, he was living in the Castle as caretaker with his wife and baby. They were the only persons in the castle that night. Richard Dawkins stated that at 2.20am there was a knock on the door. He opened the window, put out his head, and saw men outside who stated that they wanted a night’s lodging. They ordered him to open the door. He went down and opened the door and was subsequently held at gunpoint. The raiders then stated that they were going to burn the castle. Dawkins asked for time to get his wife and child out and was given twenty minutes to do so. The raiders then went into the castle and poured petrol over the rooms, and set them on fire. They kept the family outside from 2.30am to 5.00am. Each of the men had a tin of petrol, and all were armed. Some had trench coats and other had bandoleers over their civilian clothes. The men broke furniture before setting the castle on fire.…
“In a newspaper report Jonathan Darby said that it looked as if there were explosives used in the destruction of the castle he had found some dynamite in the cellar where the raiders got so drunk they could not explode it. He said that it was the locals who burned the castle.”
– Noel Guerin
8. Loughton, Moneygall, Birr, Co. Offaly E53 WK16
See my entry:
https://irishhistorichouses.com/2020/11/01/loughton-house-moneygall-county-offaly/
www.loughtonhouse.com
Open dates in 2025: May 1-3, 6-10, 13-17, 20-24, 27-31, June 3-7, 10-14, 17-21, 24-28, Aug 5-9, 12-24, 11am-3pm
Fee: adult €8, OAP €7, child/student free
9. Springfield House, Mount Lucas, Daingean, Tullamore, Co. Offaly R35 NF89
Open dates in 2025: Feb 1-3, 22-23, Mar 8-9, 15-17, Apr 5-6, May 3-5,10-11, 17-18, July 5-6, 26-30, Aug 1-24, Sept 29-30, Oct 1-5, 25-27, 2pm-6pm
Fee: Free
See my entry https://irishhistorichouses.com/2022/06/01/springfield-house-mount-lucas-daingean-tullamore-co-offaly/
Places to stay, County Offaly
1. Ballynacard House, Birr, County Offaly €
The airbnb entry tells us:
“We look forward to welcoming you to Ballincard House! Take a step back in time and enjoy the charm of your private apartment located on the second floor of our 19th Century Georgian home. If desired, we are delighted to guide you through the house and share with you almost 200 years of our home’s rich history. Roam freely through our 120 acres of gardens, farmland and woodlands, or enjoy a guided tour of our grounds and learn of present day efforts to transform our land into a nature reserve.
The space:
Access to the apartment is through the main house.
The apartment has a large bedroom with a king sized and single bed with an en suite bathroom
The living room has an open fire (firewood provided) which will be lit in advance of your arrival if requested. There is also a table which can be used as a dining table or desk. There is a sofa bed which sleeps 2 people.
The kitchen has all appliances and kitchenware needed to cook breakfast, lunch or dinner. Tea, coffee and some basic cooking ingredients (milk, bread, salt, pepper, spices, cooking oil) are provided
IMPORTANT: For groups staying, we’d like to note that the bathroom is an ensuite off of the bedroom in the apartment. All guests will need to pass through the bedroom to use the bathroom.
The bathroom has a shower (there is not a bath tub).”
2. Kinnitty Castle (formerly Castle Bernard), Kinnity, County Offaly
https://www.kinnittycastlehotel.com/index.html
We treated ourselves to a stay in Kinnitty Castle in February 2023. It is now a hotel. See my entry https://irishhistorichouses.com/2025/04/13/kinnitty-castle-formerly-castle-bernard-kinnity-county-offaly-now-a-hotel/
Mark Bence-Jones writes in his 1988 book of Kinnitty Castle, formerly named Castle Bernard: p. 62. [Castle Bernard]: “[Bernard 1912; De la Poer Beresford, Decies] A Tudor-Revival castle of 1833 by James and George Pain. Impressive entrance front with gables, oriels and tracery windows and an octagonal corner tower with battlements and crockets; all in smooth ashlar. Subsequently the home of 6th Lord Decies [Arthur George Marcus Douglas De La Poer Beresford (1915-1992)], by whom it was sold ca. 1950. Now a forestry centre [at the time Mark Bence-Jones wrote this].”
The Stable yard is in use as a banqueting hall, called the Great Hall of the O’Carrolls, and kitchens.
There’s a bar in the cellar of the hotel, called the Dungeon Bar.
The River Camcor winds through the property.
3. Loughton House, County Offaly – see above
4. The Maltings, Castle Street, Birr, Co. Offaly
(Tourist Accommodation Facility) Open in 2025: all year
Whole house rental, County Offaly:
1. Ballycumber, County Offaly – whole house rental (13 guests)
https://www.airbnb.ie/rooms/21064152?source_impression_id=p3_1646848147_zcYarfp2zhDKFdHo
The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage tells us about Ballycumber:
“Originally built as a castle in 1627 and remodelled at a later date, the regular from of this well proportioned house is enhanced by architectural detailing such as the finally executed doorcase and attractive, steeply-pitched hipped roof. The building retains many notable features and materials such as the timber sash windows with the date plaque, which adds historical interest to the site. The related outbuildings and walled garden create an interesting group of agricultural structures, while the folly and landscaped tree-lined river walk make a positive contribution to the setting of the house, reflecting the era of the large country estate.“
The Offaly history blog tells us more about the occupants of Ballycumber:
“Ballycumber House was bought by Francis Berry Homan Mulock in 1899 from the Armstrong family who had been in possession of the estate for successive generations. Originally built as a castle in 1627 by the Coghlan family, it was extensively remodelled by the Armstrongs in the eighteenth century into a detached five-bay two storey over basement country house, much as it is today.” [7]
I would love to stay at Ballycumber because the Bagot family of County Offaly intermarried with the Armstrong family who owned Ballycumber. I’m not sure if my own Baggot family is related to the Bagots of Offaly but there is a good possibility!
2. Loughton House, County Offaly – see above
[1] https://www.irelandscontentpool.com/en
[2] Bence-Jones, Mark. A Guide to Irish Country Houses (originally published as Burke’s Guide to Country Houses volume 1 Ireland by Burke’s Peerage Ltd. 1978); Revised edition 1988 Constable and Company Ltd, London.
[4] p. 136. O’Reilly, Sean. Irish Houses and Gardens. From the Archives of Country Life. Aurum Press Ltd, London, 1998.
[6] https://www.ihh.ie/index.cfm/houses/house/name/Gloster%20House
Text © Jennifer Winder-Baggot, www.irishhistorichouses.com
Irish Historic Houses 