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Thoor Ballylee Review
Read our Western Ireland with Galway sights reviews. Or post your own.
Thoor Ballylee
- Address: N66, 2 km (3 mi) north of Gort, Gort, Co. Galway
- Phone: 091/631-436
- www.irelandwest.ie
- Category: Castles/Palaces
- Location: Gort
Fodor's Review:
Thoor Ballylee is a sight Yeats fans won't want to miss. (It's one of the few major Yeats-related sights in the West that's not in County Sligo.) In his fifties and newly married, Yeats bought this 14th-century Norman "thoor," or tower, as a ruin in 1916 for £35 (about EUR 44). The tower stands beside a whitewashed, thatched-roof cottage with a tranquil stream running alongside it. Its proximity to Lady Gregory's house at Coole Park made this a desirable location, though it required significant work on Yeats's part to make the ruin livable. He stayed here intermittently until 1929 and penned some of his more mystical works here, including The Tower and The Winding Stair. It's now fully restored and some rooms showcase the poet's original furnishings. The audiovisual display is a useful introduction to Yeats and his times. High up the tower's parapet you can get some great views of Coole's Seven Woods.
- Cost: EUR 5
- Open: June-Sept., Mon.-Sat. 9:30-5
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