Castle hotel
Warrenpoint
Narrow Water Castle
Self-catering apartment stays within a genuine 19th-century castellated country house overlooking Carlingford Lough and the Cooley Mountains.
Worth the detour
Notable castles to visit
12thc.
Notable castle
Clough Castle
A ruined Anglo-Norman motte-and-bailey built in the 12th century by John de Courcy, with an 82-foot-high motte topped by a stone tower that was enlarged into a tower house in the 15th century; a kidney-shaped bailey lies to its south, once separated by a defensive ditch..
13thc.
Notable castle
Dundrum Castle
Built by John de Courcy near the start of the 13th century following his invasion of Ulster, Dundrum Castle stands atop a rocky hill commanding sweeping views over Dundrum Bay and the Mourne Mountains, and was constructed to control access into the Lecale district from the west and south..
13thc.
Notable castle
Greencastle (County Down)
Likely built by Hugh de Lacy alongside Carlingford Castle on the opposite shore, Greencastle guarded the narrow entry channel of Carlingford Lough and the ferry crossing between the two.
18thc.
Notable castle
Hillsborough Castle
Note: despite its name, Hillsborough is a Georgian great house rather than a fortified castle.
15thc.
Notable castle
Jordan's Castle
A rectangular four-storey tower house in the historic port town of Ardglass, with two projecting turrets on its north side joined by a machicolation arch, built in the same defensive style pioneered at nearby Kilclief Castle.
1413
Notable castle
Kilclief Castle
Built between 1413 and 1441, reputedly by John Sely, Bishop of Down, Kilclief is the earliest datable tower house in County Down.
19thc.
Notable castle
Killyleagh Castle
Believed to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited castles in Ireland, with sections dating to 1180, Killyleagh Castle was redesigned in the mid-19th century by architect Sir Charles Lanyon in the style of a Loire Valley château, giving it a fairy-tale turreted silhouette overlooking Strangford Lough..
1560s tower house
Notable castle
Narrow Water Castle
A well-preserved 16th-century tower house and bawn built by the Magennis family beside the Clanrye (Newry) River near Warrenpoint, replacing an earlier 13th-century Norman keep on the same strategically important site controlling the entrance to Carlingford Lough.