Desmond Castle
Desmond Castle
4.5
About
The Desmond Castle is located on the edge of the village of Adare, just off the N21 on the main Limerick to Kerry road. The castle was erected with an ancient ring-fort around the early part of the 13th century. It became a strategic fortress during the following turbulent years. It was the property of the Earls of Kildare for nearly 300 years until the rebellion in 1536, when it was forfeited and granted to the Earls of Desmond who gave the castle its present name. Tours of the 13th century Norman Castle operate daily from June to the end of September. Groups may be accommodated outside of these months on request.
Duration: 1-2 hours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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4.5
122 reviews
Excellent
80
Very good
33
Average
6
Poor
1
Terrible
2
Jim W
Sindelfingen, Germany8,579 contributions
Jul 2023 • Couples
While this small castle will not blow any one away in elegance or size, these ruins are truly impressive, especially with its unique history. For only 6 Euro, you can get a private tour. When my wife and I went, there were only five of us. She got to open the castle door on the way in and I got to lock it up at the end. The tour guide was funny and very informative. His informative narrative added so much to our experience. The whole thing only takes an hour, but it is well worth it.
Written August 25, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Houston_Eriol
Houston459 contributions
Jun 2023 • Couples
Amazing castle. You have to reserve a tour and you meet at the heritage center in town, not the castle. Our tour guide was Mark and he did an awesome job giving us the history of that place but also tying it into the full history of Ireland which we had been learning so it was great to see it come together.
Written July 16, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gerrri99 Dublin
Dublin, Ireland229 contributions
Jun 2021 • Couples
Booked at. Heritage centre in Adare, we were driven in. Minibus to the Castle. Superb tour guide Jess helped make it a hugely enjoyable and informative visit. Highly recommend.
Written July 9, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Srinivas P
Bangalore District, India149 contributions
Mar 2024 • Family
We had a visit today with family while we were passing this way. One among the contact (forgot to get the name!) in the office was really helpful and provided detailed background about the castle and history. It was insightful for kids and our family. Nice place to visit and get to know the history of around 800 years old!
Written March 17, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Chris H
Peterborough, Canada33 contributions
Apr 2011 • Couples
The Castle was closed to the public. Scaffolding was visible on one side, however, it still is a great photo opportunity. The property lie on the side of the river so you can get some great shots from the bridge. Take the side street on the west of bridge down and you can get right to the edge and see the west side of the Castle up close.
Askeaton isn't that big of a town, it does however house this castle, St. Mary's Church, The Knights Templar Tower, and a fairly well preserved Priory. This isn't the most spectacular castle experience that you will have in County Limerick, but when you add in the other sites available to you in this small town, it's certainly worthwhile to visit.
Cheers from Canada
Askeaton isn't that big of a town, it does however house this castle, St. Mary's Church, The Knights Templar Tower, and a fairly well preserved Priory. This isn't the most spectacular castle experience that you will have in County Limerick, but when you add in the other sites available to you in this small town, it's certainly worthwhile to visit.
Cheers from Canada
Written March 31, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
anjinsan
Riverside, CA175 contributions
Aug 2015 • Couples
Desmond Castle can only be toured with a guide. This is easy to do. We began our visit at the Visitor Center in Adare. There is plenty of parking in the back. At the center you buy your ticket for your guided tour. They drove us to the castle, a short 5 minute drive. The guide pointed out the historical sights and told the history of the area. Then we arrived at the castle. We walked throughout the castle while guide, Sandra, explained the history and all shorts of interesting facts about living in the castle. We have toured many castle throughout Ireland and Europe. This was one of the most fun because of all the interesting information we gained. Sandra our guide was great. What a wealth of information she has. If in Adare, well worth a stop.
Written August 7, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Richard R
Mashpee, MA64 contributions
Sep 2019
Desmond Castle in Adare is well worth the stop. We went to the Adare Heritage Center where we found our guide Mary who bussed us to the castle (left the car in the free parking at the center) and walked us through it while giving us the history. Helps to understand how they lived.
She was great.
She was great.
Written October 17, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
mabellnyc
nyc24 contributions
Aug 2016 • Couples
had a great tour with a very competent and informative guide. takes about an hour but well worth it.
Written August 6, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
floLimerickIreland
Corralejo, Spain35 contributions
May 2012 • Friends
this castle dominates the skyline as you come into the town of Askeaton and is truely a wonderous site. The history that surrunds it is fantastic. the whole town is full of history and well worth a visit. the people are very friendly and i really enjoyed my visit and will definately go back again
Written May 16, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AllanH328
Bethesda, MD553 contributions
Sep 2019
As we drove into the village we caught glimpses of the castle. If we had more time in Adare I would have gone to get a closer look. We had seen a ton of castles on our trip so far so didn't feel the urgency to do more here.
Written October 21, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hello, we would like to arrange a tour for 4 adults on Wednesday May 10th ... Would this be possible? If so, what is the earliest time available?
Thanks!
Written May 1, 2017
Nosotros no somos estudiantes, no tuvimos descuento pero me parece que si hay diferentes tarifas y puede que los estudiantes tengan descuento
Written February 15, 2017
Two of us would like to take a bus tour from Adare Heritage Center to Desmond Castle - would this be offered on Feb. 27, 2016? If so, how do we sign up?
Written February 3, 2016
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