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Despite its status as one of Ireland's most photographed castles, Dunguaire Castle has been shuttered to visitors for over a year due to a contentious dispute between the current owner, the Heritage Council, and the government over its future management. The closure has left thousands of tourists disappointed and local activists scrambling to pressure authorities to reopen this historic site.
Dunguaire Castle on Galway Bay was open for tours and banquets until a dispute over ownership and funding closed its gates Dunguaire Castle: Tourists still flock to the picturesque castle on Galway Bay, but in recent years a dispute over ownership has prevented visitors from entering.
Photograph: Lucy Garrett/The New York Timescome by the busload, disgorging from motorised behemoths that seem improbable for many Irish roads. With mobile phones at the ready, they head for the photogenic Dunguaire Castle, a majestic 16th-century bastion rising beside a swan-favoured corner of Overlooking the sea-scented village of Kinvara, Dunguaire could well be Ireland's most photographed castle, its image in countless brochures and promotions.
But a sign on the entrance gate suggests that Ireland, known as the land of 100,000 welcomes, might have to reduce that number by at least one: "Castle & grounds closed to the public.
" There to say hello instead one recent morning was Fran O'Reilly, a retired researcher wearing a broad-brimmed hat as protection from the day's Irish rarity of sustained sunshine. In her hand was a document featuring a QR code that, when scanned, opened to a prewritten email of disappointment, already addressed to various government officials, to which visitors could add their own words of dismay.
With the zeal of a seasoned campaigner, O'Reilly approached clutches of puzzled tourists to explain that not long ago, the castle was open for tours and banquets - until, she said, Government officials got in their own way. A long road to Ireland: 'The Irish are very secretive.
They don't tell you stuff'Actor Olwen Fouéré: 'I firmly believe we are in the last days of the Anthropocene' "About three years ago they had a fight about money, and instead of sorting it out, they closed the gate," she told a family from France.
"So people like you, thousands of people every week, come from around the world to see this castle, and can't. " One of the French tourists scanned the QR code to join an effort that, at last count, had convinced 2,400 people from more than 50 countries to send missives of disenchantment to the powers that be.
A quick perusal showed notes from a tour operator in Denmark, a study-abroad programme director in the United States and many, many disgruntled Irish people.
"This place is one of the reasons that tourists come here, and what do they find: Ireland is closed," one wrote. , the government entity that owns the castle and closed the site in 2023, forwarded a brief statement that said, in part: "Relevant parties are actively exploring options for the future ownership and stewardship of the site with a view to securing its long-term protection and conservation.
As these discussions remain ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.
" Fran O'Reilly, a campaigner for the group Save Kinvara Castle, which has organised a petition to urge the authorities to reopen the site. Photograph: Lucy Garrett/The New York Times Dunguaire Castle: The castle's name translates as 'fort of Guaire', a seventh-century king. Photograph: Lucy Garrett/The New York Times For O'Reilly, a member of a grassroots group called Save Kinvara Castle, the statement was as vaporous as the exhaust fumes of the idling buses near the tower.
"So this petition is a way of trying to say, 'Enough,'" she said. "'Get on with it. '" The castle's name translates as "fort of Guaire", a seventh-century king. Technically a tower house, the structure was built around 1510 by the ruling O'Hynes clan as a defensive lookout and residence, but transformed over time into a symbol of permanence as integral to Kinvara's identity as the sea.
From the outdoor seating at establishments along the quay - Connolly's pub, perhaps, or the Pier Head restaurant - visitors can sit and, glass in hand, consider how the 75-foot tower has been a stone-silent witness to the evolving story. It was there, defining the horizon, as a place with a few crude buildings developed into the busy port of Kinvara. As the potatoes were harvested, the seaweed collected and the main street bustled on market days.
As tenant farmers chafed under British landlords. As famine struck. The mid-19th century calamity known as the Great Hunger devastated Kinvara with evictions, emigration and death. In a cow field a short walk from the castle, a modest monument marking the mass graves of hundreds features a prayer in Irish that translates as "May they all have a bed in Heaven".
A diminished Kinvara took generations to recover, but life continued. In the castle's shadows, people watered their horses, repaired the red sails of their single-masted Galway hookers and gossiped in forever-pubs like Green's, where the weight of whiskey still sags the shelves. Some fought in the War of Independence early in the 20th century, even tearing down the British police barracks on the main road, then endured the Civil War that followed
Dunguaire Castle Galway Bay Kinvara Heritage Council Irish Tourism Castle Closure Cultural Heritage Ownership Dispute Tower House Great Hunger
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