Tower house
On the lake.
Christopher Fitzgerald — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Unknown — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Nigel Thompson — CC BY-SA 2.0 · User:Mxs — Public domain · Eugene gogs — CC BY-SA 4.0 · FiazFarrelly — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gillfoto — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Audrius Janecka — CC BY-SA 4.0
A fifteenth-century stone tower house on the shore of Lough Leane, the largest of the Lakes of Killarney, built by the local O'Donoghue chieftains and later passed to the Browne family, who became leading landowners in the area. It was one of the last strongholds to surrender to Cromwell's forces in the seventeenth century; legend said it could only fall to an attack from the water, so the defenders gave up when they saw warships approaching across the lake. Inside are restored rooms with sixteenth- and seventeenth-century furniture, narrow spiral stairs and a great hall with a wooden ceiling, and boats leave from its pier for Innisfallen Island and through the lakes to the Gap of Dunloe. Admission is €5 for adults; the interior is by guided tour only, up to 15 people, first come first served, and the castle opens from 5 March to 3 November 2026, 09:30–17:00, per the Office of Public Works. It's a walk or bike ride from town.
On the lake.
Period furniture.
From the pier.
On the shore of Lough Leane, Killarney National Park
From 5 March to 3 November 2026, daily 09:30–17:00; the interior is by guided tour only, €5 for adults, per the Office of Public Works.