Portumna Castle & Gardens — Attraction in County Galway

Interesting example from a time when castles turned to manor houses. The OPW is doing a great job restoring the building from the neglected ruin it was for more than a hundred years to a living peace of irish histroy.

Though its still a work in progress its well worth a visit and the moderrate entrance fee. Inside the partially restored building a coprehensive exhibition of the house`s past and its owners family history is displayed using a modern approach.

Dont miss the nearby kitchen garden as its an almost magical place of piece and quite. The helpful staff will show you the small entrance at the side of the house`s formal garden.

The parking spot for the house isnt signposted, entering the estate grounds through the very ornate iron doors just take the first possibility on the right hand side and proceed for a hundred metres down that way. You will find a spot to leave your car right in front of the first gate leading to the castle ground.

Dont miss the scenic ruins of portumna abbey just a short walk further down the entranceway on the former...

In 2023, it was finally time to explore Portumna Castle in county Galway, Ireland. This castle was built around 400 years ago by the de Burgo (Burke) family and it offers the castle, a café, a walled garden and an indoor exhibition.

You can best reach this castle by car and park close to the park’s entrance where you can already spot the ruins of Portumna Friary. You can freely access those and explore them to your heart’s content!

When you then walk onwards this path for a bit, you reach the castle grounds with toilets and a café located in the courtyard buildings. When the weather’s nice, this is a lovely place to sit, from where you can already see parts of the castle itself.

For 5€, you can then also head into the castle and the gardens. Inside the castle, there’s an exhibition on the ground floor bringing the story of the castle and the de Burgo family to life.

The most interesting part about this area, however, truly are the gardens! There are formal, geometrically-laid gardens to the north, which definitely make for some...

Beautiful Marina on the banks of the Shannon. Picnic tables so you can buy a sandwich and coffee from local shop (or bring your own) and have a picnic while watching the boats come and go. Lots of ducks and swans too. Credit to whoever keeps the place clean because it was immaculate. Facilities for camper vans and boats. Toilets and showers. Electric hook up. Disposal areas for water. Rubbish collected from camper vans each morning but still not sure why there are no public rubbish bins. Will need a card from local supermarket to access electricity, toilets etc. Not sure of price. I think they're sold in 10euro cards but can be used across Ireland at waterway Ireland facilities. There's a castle with lovely gardens to explore (can't remember price of entry) and a very short walk will bring you to the ruins of a wonderful old Abbey. We didn't do the castle (something for another day) but the ruins of the abbey are stunning. Overall, a beautiful stop off on...