Parke's Castle

PricingFree with English Heritage membershipEH memberFree entryNon-member€5

EH members go freeInfo

Free entry for English Heritage members

This place is cared for by the Office of Public Works, which runs Ireland's national heritage sites as Heritage Ireland. English Heritage members are entitled to free entry to all OPW sites from the first year of membership. Show your current membership card at admissions.

Bring the card itself: joint and family memberships admit the named holders only.
Guided sites may run tours at set times; unguided sites are free to everyone.
Prices here are in euro.

More information

Entry

Non-member prices

Adult: guided or self-guided visit€5.00

Child or student€3.00

Senior or group€4.00

Family€13.00

Pricing details

One price for a guided or self-guided visit, sold at the desk only; no online booking. OPW's general rule gives free admission to children under 12 and to visitors with disabilities and their carers. Free for English Heritage members showing a valid card, from the first year of membership (every OPW site; the named members on the card). Heritage Card holders free.

OPW's Student/Child rate; no age band given on the page, and OPW says children under 12 visit free. Free for English Heritage members showing a valid card, from the first year of membership (every OPW site; the named members on the card). Heritage Card holders free.

OPW's senior rate, matched by its group rate; no age given on the page. Free for English Heritage members showing a valid card, from the first year of membership (every OPW site; the named members on the card). Heritage Card holders free.

OPW's family ticket; the page does not define the family. Free for English Heritage members showing a valid card, from the first year of membership (every OPW site; the named members on the card). Heritage Card holders free.

ParkingParking not known

The Trust's page does not say how parking is charged.

Parking details

OPW lists a car park, coach parking and bicycle parking at the castle but publishes no charge; the visitor car park lies on the castle's frontage beside the entrance on the R286, 11 km from Sligo town and 7 km from Dromahair. OPW gives no bus or train directions. Every Wednesday from 1 July the Rose of Innisfree boat leaves Doorly Park jetty in Sligo at 10.30am for the castle, with a guided tour at 11.30am and the return by 1.30pm, booked with the boat company.

Driving pin: the castle's own car park beside the entrance, which OPW's social guide shows as the way in.

About

Parke's Castle occupies a striking setting on the northern shore of Lough Gill in County Leitrim, a restored plantation manor house of the early seventeenth century that was once the home of the English planter Robert Parke. Beneath it lies the tower house of Sir Brian O'Rourke, lord of West Breifne, whom an English governor called the proudest man this day living on the earth; he resisted crown rule, fled Ireland, was held in the Tower of London and hanged at Tyburn. Tragedy struck the Parkes in 1677 when two of their children drowned in the lake, and the castle fell into disrepair until the 1980s, when it was restored with traditional Irish oak and craftsmanship, including a left-handed spiral stair whose core is a single oak tree. Inside are the family room, banqueting hall and a scale model of the castle; the bawn holds a thatched forge, the pigeon tower and a lakeshore sweathouse. Reviewers urge taking the guided tour.

Check today’s timesPick a day for times and prices

Until 30 Oct: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sun 09:00–17:00, last admission 16:15; Sat 10:00–18:00, last admission 17:15
From 31 Oct: Daily 10:00–18:00, last admission 17:15

31 Oct–1 Nov: 09:00–17:00, last admission 16:15

Today, Saturday 24 October

Parke's Castle10:00 – 18:00last admission 17:15

Prices, non-members

Adult€5.00
Concession€4.00
Child€3.00
Family€13.00

Opening times may change at short notice.

Open 14 March to 1 November 2026: daily 10am to 6pm with last admission 5.15pm until 24 October, then daily 9am to 5pm with last admission 4.15pm until 1 November; closed for the winter after that, with the 2027 season unpublished. One price covers a guided or self-guided visit, with guided tours on request, a self-guide leaflet, picture finds for children and the film Stone by Stone on the history of the north-west in four languages; no online booking. Free admission for everyone on the first Wednesday of each month in season.

Reception, the film and the toilets, including an accessible toilet, are on the ground floor, but there are quite a few steps, uneven surfaces and low doorways, and the upper rooms are reached by the oak spiral stair; no lift. Baby changing and bicycle parking; card payments accepted; no cafe or shop.

Photo: Parke's Castle, its bawn wall, round corner tower and gabled manor house, reflected in the still water of Lough Gill on a clear spring morning. Digital Eye, CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Digital_Eye%E2%80%932015%E2%80%93Parke%27s_Castle.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.