Guided Tours of Bellew's Castle, Castletown, Dundalk

Bellew's Castle is a large Towerhouse castle built in the 15th century (c.1472) by Richard Bellew, at Castletown, west of Dundalk, County Louth. It is both a Protected Structure and a Recorded Monument.

The watercolour illustration above (courtesy of the National Library of Ireland), by Thomas Cocking .shows the castle in the late 18th century, just after it had been superseded as a country residence by the fine Georgian house which still stands beside it

The castle was modified in the mid 20th century when it became part of the girls' secondary school built beside it by the Irish Sisters of Saint Louis.

Conservation works are currently taking place with funding from Louth County Council and the Community Monuments Fund (administered by the National Monuments Service, part of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage). Original features of the castle, covered up for centuries, have been uncovered in this process, which is overseen by architect Michael O'Boyle..

Tour guide, architect Colm O'Sullivan, of Deaton Lysaght Architects, will cover the history of the castle and the works currently being undertaken, with access to the exterior and main rooms (but not to the roof).

This is a 550-year old Mediaeval defensive building, with ongoing conservation (i.e. building) works. While major modifications were made in the 1950s, when it became part of a school, it is not universally accessible. There are narrow, winding, spiral staircases. Each tour will accommodate a MAXIMUM of 15 people. Tours MUST be BOOKED using the link provided. A list of booked names will be kept and checked and only those whose names are on the list will be allowed enter the castle on their pre-booked tours. Please note that we cannot allow people who miss their tour to go on a later tour instead.

While (unfortunately) access to the tour of the inside of the castle is not recommended for those with limited mobility, it might be possible to listen to the historical introduction at the start of the tour and to view the outside of the castle while the internal tour is going on.