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Sixteenth-century tower house · Kinvara, County Galway

Dunguaire Castle, near Ballinderreen

For the view across the inlet, not a promised castle tour.

Sixteenth-century tower house

The story behind Dunguaire Castle

The compact tower and enclosing wall sit on a rocky projection at the edge of Kinvara. Dating to around 1520, Dunguaire later became associated with the writers of the Irish literary revival. Its silhouette and tidal setting explain why it draws attention even from outside.

What you will see

Treat this as a possible exterior view on a Kinvara visit. The official website still describes historic tours and banquets, but its prominent closure notice takes precedence. Those older descriptions should not be read as bookable experiences.

Dunguaire Castle, Kinvara, County Galway
Dunguaire Castle, Kinvara, County Galway·Boomur, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Resized and converted to WebP. Display may be cropped; the full photograph is linked.

Plan your visit

Temporarily closed

The operator states that Dunguaire Castle is temporarily closed. No reopening date, current admission price or public access to the enclosure was confirmed. Do not enter closed grounds. Check the official notice before making a journey specifically for the castle.

Check the official visitor information ↗
Sources and checks
From Ballinderreen
5.1 km south, in a straight line
Wheelchair
Recorded as not accessibleOne tag covering the whole place. It does not say whether the entrance, the inside, the toilets or the route to the door are step free, and this page will not say so either.

The map does not yet record a phone number for Dunguaire Castle. Anyone can add it on OpenStreetMap, and this page picks the change up at the next refresh.

Getting to Dunguaire Castle

Your journey, your way

Let’s get you to Dunguaire Castle.

Choose where you are starting. We’ll work out the rest.

Going toDunguaire CastleDestination: the mapped location
1 Where are you starting?

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Nearby starting points
2 How would you like to travel?
3 When are you going?

All times are local to Ireland. Scheduled services, without live delay updates.

Journey preferences Transport type and sorting

Choose a starting point to plan your journey.

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 works
Destination, access and nearby stops

Dunguaire Castle is in Ballinderreen, 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.

It is 5.1 km south of the centre of Ballinderreen in a straight line. The map records no stop within walking distance.
Stops near it

The nearest scheduled stop is Kinvara (357531), 850 m away in a straight line. Use the planner to check walking connections for your journey.

  • Kinvara 850 m
    buses 350 and 351
    Scheduled departures from this stop
  • Kinvara West 1.4 km
    buses 350 and 351
    Scheduled departures from this stop

Getting to Ballinderreen covers the journeys into the town itself.

Other castles in Ballinderreen

Nearest to Dunguaire Castle first, and the figure beside each one is how far it is from Dunguaire Castle, in a straight line. Same point, same measure.

All 11 castles in Ballinderreen

Questions people ask

Where is Dunguaire Castle?
Dunguaire Castle is in Kinvara, County Galway. Distances on this page are measured from Ballinderreen in a straight line.
How do you contact Dunguaire Castle?
Contact Dunguaire Castle. Visit www.dunguairecastle.com.
How far is Dunguaire Castle from the centre of Ballinderreen?
5.1 km south of the centre, measured in a straight line. The map above can work out the walk along the footpaths from wherever you are.
Are there other castles near Dunguaire Castle?
11 in Ballinderreen altogether. The nearest are Cahererillan Castle, Drumharsna Castle and Ballymaquiff Castle.
How do you get to Dunguaire Castle without a car?
The nearest stop in the national timetable is Kinvara, 850 m away in a straight line, and buses 350 and 351 call there, run by Bus Éireann and TFI Local Link Limerick Clare. The planner on this page works out the walk from that stop over real footways and the whole journey from wherever you are starting, for the day and time you choose.

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/110472519, 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.

Back to Ballinderreen·Getting to Ballinderreen·Castles in Ballinderreen