Northern Ireland · 12th century
Killyleagh Castle is a castle in the village of Killyleagh, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is believed to be one of the oldest inhabited castles in the country, with parts dating back to 1180. It follows the architectural style of a Loire Valley château, being redesigned by the architect Sir Charles Lanyon in the mid-19th century. It has been owned by the Hamilton family since the early 17th century.
It is currently the home of Gawn Rowan Hamilton and his family. The castle hosts occasional concerts; performers have included Van Morrison, Glen Hansard and Bap Kennedy. The gate lodges provide self-catering holiday accommodation. From 2012 to 2014, the castle was used to film CBBC show Dani's Castle.
Text adapted from “Killyleagh Castle” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Killyleagh Castle ranks #3,997 of 9,079 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #18 of the 39 mapped in Northern Ireland. Founded 1180, it is older than 78% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 756 atlas entries founded in the 12th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,750 times in the last 60 days, more than 66% of the atlas. 6 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Belfast, 28 km away. See how Northern Ireland compares in the castle statistics.
View on the interactive castle map →