Maynooth Castle

PricingFreeFree for all visitors

Free entry for everyone

Entry

Free for everyone

Pricing details

Free for everyone in season, including the exhibition in the keep; groups of ten or more must pre-book. No membership card is needed.

ParkingNo car park

Arrive on foot, by bike or by public transport.

Parking details

OPW names no car park and a reviewer notes that parking is on the road. The APCOA public car park at Manor Court is about 190 m east of the castle; its tariff is not stored. Maynooth is about 30 km west of Dublin city centre off the N4; OPW names no bus or rail service.

Driving pin: OPW's own address point at the end of Main Street by the gatehouse and the university's main gate, which Google's listing shares.

About

Maynooth Castle occupies a deceptively secluded spot at the end of the town's Main Street, thirty kilometres from Dublin. This majestic stone castle was founded in the early thirteenth century and became the seat of power of the FitzGeralds, earls of Kildare, as they emerged as one of the most powerful families in Ireland; Garret Mór, the Great Earl, governed Ireland in the king's name from 1487 to 1513. It was one of the largest and richest Geraldine dwellings, and its keep, begun around 1200, was among the biggest of its kind in the country, its great hall a nerve centre of political power and culture. The gatehouse with its carved arms, the curtain walls and the two floors of the keep stand in well-kept grounds, and an exhibition in the keep tells the history of the castle and the family, with plaques around the site. Admission is free in season, from late April to late September; there are no toilets, and parking is on the street.

ClosedPick a day for times and prices

Today, Saturday 24 October

Maynooth CastleClosed

Closed for the winter.

Opening times may change at short notice.

Open seasonally: in 2026 from 23 April to 23 September, daily 10:00 to 17:45 with last admission at 17:15 (OPW's Irish page gives the closing time as 17:15); closed for the rest of the year, with no winter opening published. Groups of ten or more must pre-book by email. Guided tours are listed; reviewers describe a self-guided visit with plaques and staff on hand.

No toilet facilities at the castle; OPW notes limited access for visitors with disabilities. A picnic area in the grounds; cafes on Main Street and the university campus next door.

Photo: The arched gatehouse of Maynooth Castle with its carved FitzGerald arms, and the great keep beyond, on a winter day. William Murphy, CC BY-SA 2.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MAYNOOTH_CASTLE_(WAS_CLOSED_TO_THE_PUBLIC_AT_THE_TIME_OF_MY_VISIT)-147889.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.