Dunguaire Castle

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Erected around 1520 by the O'Hynes clan, Dunguaire Castle sits on the fringes of Kinvara on the former site of the 6th-century royal palace of Guaire Aidhne, the king of Connaught. Lady Christabel Ampthill restored the castle after buying it for the equivalent of €500 and lived here from the 1950s to the 1970s. Climb to the roof for glorious views of Galway Bay and Kinvara.

Lady Ampthill's bedroom was in the crafts studio, with her living room at the very top, beneath a new pitched roof.

A touristy medieval banquet (adult/child €57/35) takes place at 5.30pm and 8.45pm daily, and must be prebooked online.

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