Ferns castle

Ferns Castle stands in the heart of the historic village of Ferns in County Wexford, the ancient capital of the kingdom of Leinster. Built in the early 13th century, probably by William, Earl Marshal, the castle was once a substantial rectangular fortress with massive corner towers. Today one tower survives almost to its full height, while ruined sections of the curtain wall and a second tower hint at the scale of the original stronghold.

Visitors can climb the surviving tower to see the well-preserved circular chapel on the first floor, with its rib-vaulted ceiling and lancet windows, one of the finest pieces of medieval ecclesiastical architecture in any Irish castle. A spiral staircase leads to upper levels and out onto the wall walk, with views across the rooftops of Ferns village towards Mount Leinster and the Blackstairs.

The castle is managed by the Office of Public Works and forms part of a wider heritage trail through the village, which also includes the ruins of the 12th-century Augustinian priory and St Edan's Cathedral. Together they tell the story of Ferns as a major political and religious centre in medieval Ireland, closely linked to Diarmait Mac Murchada, the king whose appeal for help triggered the Anglo-Norman arrival.