Castle
Thoor Ballylee
🇮🇪 Ireland · 15th century
Thoor Ballylee Castle (Irish Túr Bhaile Uí Laí) is a fortified, 15th-century Anglo-Norman tower house built by the septs de Burgo, or Burke, near the town of Gort in County Galway, Ireland. It is also known as Yeats's Tower because it was once owned and inhabited by the poet William Butler Yeats.
It has been described as "the most important public building in Ireland" by late Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney.
Text adapted from “Thoor Ballylee” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Thoor Ballylee ranks #3,869 of 8,134 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #60 of the 173 mapped in Ireland. Founded c. 1450, it is older than 49% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 455 atlas entries founded in the 15th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,304 times in the last 60 days, more than 56% of the atlas. 7 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Galway, 26 km away. See how Ireland compares in the castle statistics.
View on the interactive castle map →Frequently asked questions
Where is Thoor Ballylee?
Thoor Ballylee stands in Ireland, at 53.103°, -8.775°.
When was Thoor Ballylee built?
The atlas dates its founding to c. 1450. Earlier structures may have stood on the site; this is the earliest documented founding year.
How famous is Thoor Ballylee?
In this atlas's fame ranking: #3,869 of 8,134 worldwide, and #60 in Ireland. Fame here combines how many Wikipedia language editions cover a landmark with how many people read them.
What is the nearest castle to Thoor Ballylee?
Dunguaire Castle, about 11 km away.
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