Ormond Castle

Thomas Butler, tenth Earl of Ormond, was raised at the English court alongside Edward VI and was a favourite of Elizabeth I, who called him her black husband; he was her cousin through the Boleyns. In the 1560s he built a long, low, gabled manor house in front of two earlier fifteenth-century towers at Carrick-on-Suir - unfortified, with large mullioned windows, in the English domestic style, at a time when everyone else in Ireland was still building tower houses. It is the only major undefended Elizabethan manor house in the country. The Long Gallery runs thirty metres with decorative plasterwork including portraits of Elizabeth, and the queen's arms appear repeatedly through the house. It is generally said he built it expecting a royal visit; she never came to Ireland. The house is shown by guided tour, free of charge, in season only, and the older towers behind are not part of the tour.

What you actually see

• The Long Gallery - thirty metres with Elizabethan decorative plasterwork.
• The undefended manor - the only major one of its kind in Ireland.
• The royal decoration - Elizabeth's arms and portraits through the house.
• The earlier towers - the fifteenth-century Butler work behind.

When to go

April to September; the house closes for winter. Guided tour only, at set times, free of charge. An hour covers it.

Honest expectations

Seasonal opening and guided tour only - no independent access. The house is sparsely furnished. The medieval towers behind are not included. Limited parking near the site.

Nearby

Ahenny is north; Clonmel and the Comeraghs are west.