Ballyragget Castle, BALLYRAGGET, IRELAND

Ballyragget Castle. This tower castle lives in the little hometown of our Irish travel friends Donie and Catherine. They took us to see it, and the nearby town of Kilkenny, as a special treat.

Built in 1495 by the Mountgarret family, it was the favorite residence of Lady Margaret Fitzgerald, Countess of Ormonde (the famous Anne Boleyn was arranged to marry her son, but the marriage plans ended in mysterious failure; a short time later, King Henry VIII expressed his interest in young Anne…and we all know how that turned out). In 1798, it was repurposed as a military post and in 1963 modified for use as a sawmill and timber store.

On private land and not a tourist attraction, it has not been delicately restored nor carefully maintained. This castle truthfully displays its years of exposure to the elements and its many uses for practicality’s sake—rusty sawmill equipment on the bottom floor, decaying fireplaces and living spaces above, and a rotted roof to cap it off.  What a treat!