Ballymote Castle

Ballymote Castle is the substantial ruin of an early 14th-century Norman enclosure castle on the outskirts of Ballymote in County Sligo, Ireland. Built around 1300 for Richard Og de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster, it was intended to consolidate newly acquired Norman holdings in Connacht — and as the last Norman castle built in the province, it is notable for its deliberate absence of a keep, a design choice that sets it apart from earlier Norman fortifications. The rectangular plan with rounded corner towers and a distinctive D-shaped gatehouse echoes Edwardian castle design seen in Wales. Designated a National Monument, the site is freely accessible, and the surrounding open farmland gives the ruin an unguarded, quietly atmospheric quality.