We were in the Oranmore town center and I was surprised to know that there was a castle nearby. I didn’t know about the castle and I was pleased to know that we didn’t have to travel far for it. The castle apparently was near the water and it was behind a supermarket. We drove to the entrance of the castle but there was a gate and it was closed. I thought this was another one of those places which you just make sure that you close the gates behind you. But this one was really closed. Unfortunately for us, we can only look through the gates and take photos. The castle seems to be in poor state as it didn’t seem to be well maintained.
The Oranmore Castle is thought to have been built in the 15th century and it looks the part. It was owned by a local clan until it changed hands until it was abandoned. The castle isn’t really very pretty, it is rather monolithic with only a few windows. I must have been very dark in there if it was possible to go in the castle. While the castle gates are closed, it is possible to walk along the walls of the castle. It is uneven ground with a lot of rocks. To increase the challenge here, the rocks are wet and slippery. Visitors to this area need to be careful. Past the slippery area is a small pier jutting out into the water. There wasn’t much to see out into the sea I guess this is what they use to gain access to the castle from the sea.
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