Built by the Gaelic Mac Giolla Phádraig (FitzPatrick) chieftains of Upper Ossory, Ballaghmore is decorated with carved Sheela na gig figures on its walls, a rarity for a tower house of this scale. Restored and still habitable, it is one of the few Laois tower houses that can be stayed in overnight.
Visiting Ballaghmore Castle
Yes, restored, guesthouse with limited tours
"Built by the Gaelic Mac Giolla Phádraig (FitzPatrick) chieftains of Upper Ossory, Ballaghmore is decorated with carved Sheela na gig figures on its walls, a rarity for a tower house of this scale."
Where to stay nearby
The closest castle hotel is Kinnitty Castle, 15.27 km away in Kinnitty — First castle at the site destroyed in 1209 and rebuilt by the Normans in 1213; extended into its current neo-Gothic form in 1811 by the Pain Brothers, burned by Republican forces in 1922 and rebuilt in 1928.
