Thoor Ballylee, near Ardrahan
For readers who want to connect Yeats's poems with a physical place.
The story behind Thoor Ballylee
A defensive tower became a family home and then a recurring image in W. B. Yeats's writing. The tight spiral staircase is part of that connection, not just the way between floors. Beside the tower, the cottages and river soften the impression of a fortified building.
What you will see
Visit the exhibitions, climb to the upper rooms if the stairs suit you, and follow the riverside path towards the old mill. The ground-floor spaces, cottages and studio offer another way into the story without the climb. This is a compact literary visit rather than a grand-house tour.
Resized and converted to WebP. Display may be cropped; the full photograph is linked.
Seasonal admission
The society lists daily opening from Easter to mid-October, 10:00 to 17:00, with last entry at 16:30. Adult admission is €7 and children under 12 enter free. On-site parking is free. Confirm the exact autumn closing date before travelling. The advertised 2026 summer shuttle ended on 31 August; do not rely on it for an autumn visit.
Check the official visitor information ↗Sources and checks
- Yeats Thoor Ballylee SocietySeason, admission, stairs, parking and expired shuttle dates. Checked .
- Yeats Thoor Ballylee SocietyYeats family and literary connection. Checked .
- Fáilte IrelandTower visit, winding stair and riverside setting. Checked .
- Kind
- Castles
- From Ardrahan
- 6.3 km south, in a straight line
The map does not yet record a phone number for Thoor Ballylee. Anyone can add it on OpenStreetMap, and this page picks the change up at the next refresh.
Getting to Thoor Ballylee
About these directions
Public transport times come from National Transport Authority. Timetables cover 2026-09-18 to 2027-09-19. These are scheduled services; check with the operator for cancellations and changes before travelling.
Walking and driving times are estimates. A town search starts at its centre; choose your location or a point on the map for a more precise starting point. Eircode search is not available.
How journey planning worksDestination, access and nearby stops
Thoor Ballylee is in Ardrahan, County Galway. Routes here end at the point the map records for this place. No entrance has been verified, so the last few metres are for you to judge.
The nearest scheduled stop is Corker (553271), 2.1 km away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.
- Corker 2.1 km
bus 434Scheduled departures from this stop
Getting to Ardrahan covers the journeys into the town itself.
Other castles in Ardrahan
Nearest to Thoor Ballylee first, and the figure beside each one is how far it is from Thoor Ballylee, in a straight line. Same point, same measure.
- 2.6 km
- 3.7 km
- 4.7 km
- 6.4 km
- 7.2 km
- 10 km
- 11 km
- 11 km
- 11 km
- 12 km
- 13 km
- 13 km
Questions people ask
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Where this comes from
- From the map
- The name, the kind of place, the address where the record carries one, and any website, phone or opening hours shown as recorded on the map are tags on OpenStreetMap way/350687341, and can be corrected there.
- Worked out here
- Every distance, the nearest road where the record has no address, which car park and which stop are nearest, and the order of the lists are this site’s own calculations from those records. Distances are straight lines between two points, not walks along the footpaths, and the map will route the real walk on request. A mistake in any of this is a mistake here rather than on the map.