Look Closer Ireland

27/10/2026

🎃🇮🇪 Before the pumpkin, there was the turnip.

Halloween has deep roots in Ireland, where the ancient festival of Samhain marked the arrival of winter and a time when, according to tradition, the boundary between our world and the Otherworld grew thin.

From terrifying tales of the supernatural at Cruachan to carved turnips, disguises, bonfires and rings hidden in barmbrack, Ireland's Halloween traditions have survived for generations.

But how much of the original Irish Halloween do we still remember?

👻 What Halloween traditions did you grow up with? Carving turnips, playing snap apple, finding the ring in the barmbrack? And what county are you from?

🇮🇪 Discover the history, mystery and folklore of Ireland.

20/10/2026

They destroyed their own castle rather than let it fall into enemy hands. 🏰🔥

In the heart of Donegal Town stands a fortress with over 500 years of history.

Once the stronghold of the powerful O'Donnell clan, Donegal Castle witnessed rebellion, betrayal, destruction and the struggle for control of Gaelic Ireland.

But the story doesn't end with its walls...

👀 Local folklore tells of a secret tunnel connecting the castle to an old Franciscan friary, with a hidden crock of gold waiting to be discovered.

The tunnel has never been verified. But sometimes Ireland's most fascinating stories are the ones still surrounded by mystery.

📍 Donegal Castle, Donegal Town, Co. Donegal

Had you ever heard the legend of the hidden tunnel?

Follow Look Closer Ireland as we uncover the history, folklore and forgotten places hiding in plain sight. 🇮🇪

19/10/2026

They couldn't take the castle… so they burned the town. 🔥🏰

Hidden in the heart of County Limerick, Askeaton Castle has witnessed over 800 years of Irish history, rebellion, betrayal and destruction.

In 1579, English forces led by Sir Nicholas Malby failed to capture the stronghold of the powerful Earls of Desmond. Instead, they set fire to the town and its nearby Franciscan friary.

But Askeaton's story doesn't end there…

Standing beside the medieval castle is a building once used by the infamous Hellfire Club, an 18th-century gathering surrounded by rumours of drunken excess, scandal and mysterious rituals.

How much was truth, and how much became legend?

Today, these remarkable ruins stand quietly beside the River Deel, hiding centuries of stories in plain sight.

Ireland has an incredible history. Sometimes you just need to look a little closer. 🇮🇪

📍 Askeaton Castle, Co. Limerick, Ireland

💬 Have you ever visited Askeaton, or heard any local stories about the castle or Hellfire Club?

Follow as we uncover Ireland's forgotten places, fascinating history and hidden legends.

06/10/2026

Perched on the edge of the Atlantic, Dún Aonghasa has stood on Inis Mór for thousands of years.

But this is far more than an incredible viewpoint.

Behind these stone walls is a story stretching back to prehistoric Ireland, through Bronze Age communities, formidable defences, Irish legend and centuries of rebuilding.

Swipe through to discover the story behind one of Ireland’s most extraordinary ancient sites.

And when you reach the final photo, imagine standing here thousands of years ago, with the Atlantic at your back and these walls around you.

📍 Dún Aonghasa, Inis Mór, Aran Islands, Co. Galway

Save this one for your next trip to the Aran Islands 🇮🇪

04/10/2026

It looks like someone cut a swimming pool into the edge of Ireland. Nature did this.......at least that's what the books say!

This is Poll na bPéist, the Wormhole on Inis Mór. Its straight edges follow natural fractures in the limestone, while underwater passages connect the pool to the Atlantic.

The Irish name carries associations with worms, reptiles and mythological beasts. You may also know it as the Serpent’s Lair.

Swipe through the story behind the shape, from ancient rock to the cliff divers who brought it to a world stage.

📍 Poll na bPéist, Inis Mór, Aran Islands, County Galway

Visit for the view. Please don’t swim here: strong currents and unexpected waves make it dangerous. Keep well back from exposed edges.

Save this for your Inis Mór trip and follow Look Closer Ireland for more stories behind Ireland’s landscapes.

Before you knew the story, would you have guessed this was natural?

30/09/2026

29/09/2026

A fortress as a wedding gift? There’s more to these ruins than the view. 🏰

In 1170, the Rock of Dunamase formed part of Aoife’s dowry when she married Strongbow. A generation later, it passed to their daughter Isabel and her husband, William Marshal.

I captured it in golden hour light, with the broken walls overlooking the Laois countryside. Some places make you stop filming for a moment and just look.

📍 Rock of Dunamase, County Laois
Save this for a future Irish road trip.

What draws you to a place like this first, the history or the view?

27/09/2026

Everyone wanted this rock. 🏰

High above the Laois countryside stands the Rock of Dunamase, a fortress fought over for centuries.

Vikings attacked the earlier stronghold.
Strongbow became linked with Dunamase through his marriage to Aoife.
William Marshal’s family helped transform it into one of the great medieval fortresses of the region.

Then archaeology uncovered something darker…

10 decapitated human skulls, possibly once displayed near the entrance as a warning to anyone approaching.

But the folklore gets even stranger.

An old story preserved in Ireland’s National Folklore Collection says that when the O’Mores were driven from Laois, they hid gold, urns and precious vessels in a well near Dunamase.

People supposedly went searching for it with dogs…

only to be driven away by rats guarding the treasure. 🐀💰

Add stories of fairies, knights, invasions and centuries of conflict, and Dunamase becomes far more than another ruined Irish castle.

Some places give you a view.
Others give you a story.
Dunamase gives you both. 🇮🇪

Would you explore it?

22/09/2026

🐎 Horses grazing beside the ruins of a 12th-century church… on a tiny island in the River Shannon.

This is Inishlosky, near O’Brien’s Bridge, Co. Clare known locally as Burnt Island.

Local heritage records say the name came from farmers bringing leftover stubble from the harvest onto the island to burn.

But its older story is even more fascinating.
Accounts tell of monks from Montpellier in the south of France settling here and founding a church, only to be forced from the island by rising waters of the Shannon.

They later retreated to higher ground at Lisheen, overlooking the island.

Centuries later, the ruined church and old burial ground remain while horses still graze quietly around them.

It’s places like this that make exploring Ireland so addictive.

You could pass O’Brien’s Bridge countless times and never realise nearly 900 years of history was sitting out here in the Shannon.

🇮🇪 Had you ever heard of Inishlosky before?

irishhistory

18/09/2026

Delighted to have my Fanad Lighthouse video featured 🙌 Such an incredible part of Donegal to capture 🇮🇪🌊 Thanks Fanad Lighthouse Donegal for sharing it!