Bunratty

Bunratty Castle stands beside the River Ratty near its entry into the Shannon estuary, guarding an important approach to Limerick. Its tall stone towers incorporate remains of earlier fortifications built by Anglo-Norman lords. The MacNamaras held the castle before it passed to the O'Briens of Thomond in the early sixteenth century, becoming a seat of the earls.

During the wars of the 1640s, Barnaby O'Brien allowed English Parliamentarian forces to occupy Bunratty in 1646. Irish Confederate troops besieged the garrison, whose position on the estuary could be supplied by ships arriving from the sea. After months of fighting the defenders surrendered in July, and the Confederates took possession. The castle's command of the Shannon had made it a prize for both sides.