Bunratty Castle

15th-century castle at Bunratty, County Clare, Republic of Ireland. Considered one of the finest castles of its period in Ireland, it stands on the site of earlier fortifications from about 1250 and 1355. The castle is really a late medieval tower house. It was purchased by Lord Gort in 1956 and restored by John Hunt and Percy Le Clerc who described it as ‘the most important civil building that has come down to us from the period’. It is furnished with Lord Gort's collection of medieval and 16th-century pieces and was bequeathed to the nation on his death. A 19th-century reconstructed Irish village in the castle grounds is a major tourist attraction.