Travel Information

Driving through Ireland using a rented car is an unforgettable experience. Ireland is a country that is best seen through travelling by car. Car hire companies are operating thriving businesses because of the rising demand for car rentals. Car travellers should not miss visiting Adare Castle in County Limerick. Although the remains of the castle is in dangerous condition, plans are already underway to restore it. Adare Castle served as an Anglo-Norman fortress and is located at the banks of the Maigue River. It is still considered as one of Ireland’s most impressive castles. The origins of the castle is uncertain but it is believed that construction began during the 1190s and initially consisted of a large square tower and a D-shaped fosse that enclosed it. The castle as then remodelled during the fifteenth century and it is because of this that the original configuration is difficult to assess. The inner ward’s curtain walls were built during 1240 and was done to replace the original wood palisades. The Earls of Kildare held Adare castle for almost 300 years until 1536 when the Silken Thomas rebellion made the Earl of that time forfeit it and granted ownership to the Earl of Desmond. Forty years later, the Munster Geraldines lost the castle to English troops in a siege that lasted eleven days. Several attempts had been made to retrieve the castle, these were in 1579, 1581, and 1600. These bloody sieges left the castle’s fabric badly damaged and it was finally dismantled in 1657 by Parliamentary troops.