Glin Castle & Pleasure Grounds
Garden
Restored gardens dating back over two centuries, with walled garden.
Co Limerick
Please mention ireland-guide.com when enquiring.
Glin Castle & Pleasure Grounds
Opening Months: March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, NovemberOpening Days: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Opening Hours: By Appointment
Admission Charge: €5
- Appointment Only
- Admission Charge
The fortunes of the Norman FitzGerald family and their various castles stretching back to 1197 rises and falls like the tides in the Shannon estuary beyond the sugar white castellated house. The history of the garden is relatively recent, dating to the time the present house was built in 1780. The 25th Knight of Glin, John Fraunceis FitzGerald, known as the Knight of the Women, embellished the estate in the 1820s with the walled garden, woods, Gothic lodges, a folly and a hermitage in the pleasure grounds. It was restored with additions by the grandmother and mother of the present Knight of Glin, Desmond FitzGerald.
The formal lawn, with curlicues of yew around a sundial terrace, is bordered with flowering shrubs cherries, magnolias, cornus, Drimys winterii and hydrangeas - before giving way to the wilder areas. There is a hill dancing with daffodils in spring, carpets of bluebells under moss covered oaks, tree ferns and bamboos in the dappled shade around the hermitage, and a ring of mock standing stones in the pleasure ground.
The productive walled garden is laid out with traditional cruciform paths and a yew walk marching down the centre. In the kitchen garden and orchard sections all manner of fruit and vegetables are grown for the castle table, where guests are offered every imaginable treat, from asparagus to sea kale. Recent additions include a Gothic hen house and a rustic temple sheltering a statue of Andromeda and the Edwardian seat overlooking a pond is a good place to drink in the perfection of it all.
Not only are the gardens a joy, but the house is also open for visits at certain times - and it is a wonderful place to stay (Mar-Nov); when the Knight is at home he will take visitors on a tour of the house, which has superb interiors and decorative plasterwork, and show them all his wonderful pictures and old furniture. And, not to be missed while in Glin is Thomas O’Shaughnessy’s Pub (Tel 068 34115), just outside the castle walls; one of the finest pubs in Ireland, it is now in its sixth generation of family ownership and precious little has changed in the last hundred years - except that the gardens hidden away at the back have been given a lot of TLC in recent years.
Best time of year to visit: April, May
Gardens Strengths
Pleasure grounds, walled kitchen garden (supplies bulk of veg to kitchen); cutting bordersRare Plants worth mentioning
Specimen conifers, red cedars, Chilean lantern bush, Persian Ironwood, NZ Kowhai, MagnoliaGroups & Tours
- Groups Accepted
- Groups Need Appointments
- Accept Only Groups
- Guided Tours
Minimum Group Size:
10Tour Days:
Tour Times
By AppointmentAdditional
Trails
Limerick Garden Trail - Includes Boyces garden, Knockpatrick, Ballinacourty, Celtic GardensEvents
Open day in conjunction with National Heritage Week; also a Gardening weekend in May 08Other Facilities
Dogs welcome on a lead.Directions
Glin is 50km west of Limerick, between Foynes and Tarbert (7km east of the Tarbert ferry), on the N69.Facilities / Features
- Parking
- Suitable for children
- Dogs welcome
- Refreshments
- Restaurant
- Cafe
- Visitor Centre
- House open to public (where applicable)
- Museum
- Gift Shop
- Garden Centre
- Plant Sales
- Accomodation
- WC
- WC Wheelchair Accessible
- Wheelchair Access (Partial)
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Trip Planning Tools
My Ireland Guide
Local Recommendations
Hospitality
- Glin Castle
(0.0km) - O'Shaughnessy's
(0.7km)E - Crottys
(14.9km)NW - John Rs Home Bakery & Delicatessen
(18.8km)SW - Allo's Restaurant, Bar & Bistro
(18.8km)SW - Listowel Arms Hotel
(19.0km)SW - Beal Organic Cheese
(23.3km)SW - Morrissey's Seafood Bar & Grill
(23.7km)NW - Trump International Hotel & Golf Links
(23.9km)NW - Kilcooly's Country House
(26.2km)SW - The Marine Hotel and Restaurant
(26.6km)SW - Stella Maris Hotel
(26.7km)NW - Naughton's Bar
(26.8km)NW - Pantry, The
(26.8km)NW - Holly's Café
(26.8km)NW - Strand Bistro & Accommodation, The
(26.8km)NW - Teach de Broc
(27.0km)SW - Lir Restaurant & Bakery
(27.4km)NW - Diamond Rocks Cafe
(27.8km)NW - Curraghchase Meats at Rigneys Farm
(28.3km)NE
Self Catering
- The Links Cottages at Doonbeg Lodge
(23.9km)NW - Loop Head Lightkeeper’s House
(43.1km)SW
Farmers Markets
- Kilrush - County Clare - Thursday Morning
(14.9km)NW - Kildysart - Co Clare - Friday Mornings
(17.1km)NE - Listowel - County Kerry - Fridays
(19.0km)SW - Abbeyfeale - County Limerick - Friday mornings
(20.4km)SW - Newcastlewest - Co Limerick - Thursday & Saturday
(20.6km)SE - Kilkee - Co Clare - Sunday morning
(26.8km)NW - Miltown Malbay - Friday
(32.5km)NW - Shannon - Co Clare - Fridays
(32.6km)NE - Ennis - County Clare - Friday Mornings
(36.8km)NE - Ennistymon - Co Clare - Saturday Morning
(40.8km)NE - Tralee - County Kerry - Saturdays
(43.9km)SW - Dooradoyle Crescent - Co Limerick
(44.5km)NE - Limerick Riverside - County Limerick - Sundays
(46.1km)NE - Blennerville - Co Kerry - Sundays
(46.2km)SW - Limerick Milk - County Limerick - Wed-Sun
(46.4km)NE - Charleville - Co Cork
(47.9km)SE - Duhallow Kanturk - Kanturk County Cork - Thursdays & Saturdays
(51.1km)SE - Milltown Food - County Kerry
(55.3km)SW - Mallow - Co Cork - Fridays
(65.3km)SE
Tourist Attractions
-
Foynes Flying Boat Museum
(13.4km)SW -
Scattery Island Centre
(16.6km)SW -
Listowel Castle
(19.0km)SW -
Desmond Hall
(20.4km)SW -
Adare Castle
(34.0km)SW -
Adare Heritage Centre
(34.0km)SW -
Bunratty Castle & Folk Park
(35.6km)SW -
Ardfert Cathedral
(36.4km)SW -
Ennis Friary
(37.2km)SW -
Crag Cave
(38.9km)SW -
Lahinch Seaworld & Leisure Centre
(40.6km)SW -
Craggaunowen - The Living Past
(41.5km)SW -
Kerry County Museum
(43.7km)SW -
Cliffs of Moher - Visitor Experience
(45.4km)SW -
Thomond Park Stadium
(45.5km)SW -
Dromore Wood
(46.3km)SW -
King Johns Castle
(46.5km)SW -
The Hunt Museum
(46.5km)SW -
The Burren Centre - Gateway to the Burren
(47.0km)SW -
Burren National Park
(50.3km)SW
Golf Courses
- Doonbeg Golf Club
(23.9km) NW - Ballybunion Golf Club
(26.3km) SW - Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort
(34.9km) SE - Woodstock Golf & Country Club
(35.1km) NE - Dromoland Castle Golf Club
(35.3km) NE - Lahinch Golf Club
(40.9km) NW - Limerick Golf Club
(45.3km) NE - Charleville Golf Club
(46.0km) SE - Tralee Golf Club
(47.7km) SW
Gardens
- Vandeleur Walled Garden
(13.4km)NW
Nearby Towns/Areas
- Glin
(0.7km) SE - Foynes
(13.4km) NE - Kilrush
(14.8km) NW - Listowel
(19.0km) SW - Abbeyfeale
(20.2km) SW - Newcastle West
(21.0km) SE - Templeglantine
(21.1km) SE - Doonbeg
(23.7km) NW - Ballybunion
(26.3km) SW - Kilkee
(26.7km) NW
Apps and Books
-
From Tide to Table by Georgina Campbell
Paperback edition of From Tide to Table - Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Buying, Prep ...more... -
Georgina Campbell's Ireland - The Best of the Best
A selective companion guide to our famous broad-based online collection, the ‘glovebox bib ...more...
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