Dysert O’Dea Castle and Archaeology Centre

About the museum

Dysert O’Dea Castle is a Gaelic tower house of ten rooms on four floors that Diarmaid O’Dea, Lord of Cineál Fearmaic, built between about 1470 and 1490. It was the stronghold of the O’Dea clan, and the site is also known for the battle of Dysert O’Dea in 1318, which drove the Anglo-Normans out of the region for more than two centuries. Cromwellian forces damaged the upper floors and the staircase in 1651.

In 1970 an American descendant of the family, John O’Day of Wisconsin, bought the tower and had it restored, and it reopened in 1986 as the Dysert O’Dea Castle Archaeology Centre. The castle houses an exhibition on the local archaeology and the history of the O’Dea clan, and a guide and map for the surrounding trail are available there.

The archaeology trail is about 4 km long and passes 25 field monuments dating from roughly 1000 BC to 1850 AD, including churches, ring forts, holy wells and ancient cooking sites. Near the castle stand Dysert O’Dea Church, mainly of the twelfth century with a Romanesque doorway, the remains of a round tower and a twelfth-century high cross.

Highlights

• Fifteenth-century tower house with ten rooms on four floors
• Archaeology trail of about 4 km with 25 field monuments
• Romanesque church doorway, round tower and twelfth-century high cross
• Archaeology centre with guide and map for the trail

Permanent exhibition

• Dysert O’Dea Castle exhibition and archaeology trail – An exhibition in the restored tower house on the local archaeology and the O’Dea clan, with a trail to monuments in the surrounding landscape.

Founded

1986

Admission & discounts

The archaeology trail across the surrounding fields can be walked or driven all year.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The castle is about 5 km south of Corofin and 11 km north of Ennis, at the gateway to the Burren.

Amenities & dining

Restrooms and refreshments on site; free car and coach parking on the grounds.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent
• Weddings / ceremonies

The castle offers intimate wedding services.

Plan your visit