King Johns Castle

Visiting the castle was a fun experience. Book online 24 hours in advance to save yourself money on the tickets or bring your student ID. Beautiful views of the city from the top.

Entrance fee to the castle is € 12.00 it tells you about the history and everything about the castle and how it was invaded. Gift Shop selling souvenirs, crafts and books. Free car parking opposite the castle. Audio-​visual presentation available in English only.

Visited with a group of friends this afternoon. Staff are really warm and friendly, which was great because it was a really cold and wet afternoon. They’ve done a really good job restoring this castle. Exhibition is really informative and there’s a great view of the city from the bastions. Would recommend a visit to this place.

The tour begins with an interesting interactive walkthrough. It was very informative. I really liked how they make sure visitors understand the significance of the history behind the castle before exploring the castle itself.
After the walkthrough, visitors get to explore the castle and different rooms — this is all self-​guided. The tour ends at the gift shop/​café. Overall, a very cool tour!

Definitely a must-​do while in Limmerick. The best part is at the beginning where you go through a museum explaining the history of the castle and the various political and military struggles that went on in Ireland. When you get out, the castle provides spectacular views and there are plenty of places to go and explore. The castle itself is mostly void of useful information to read or study beyond a few placards and some simple displays of old weaponry so soak up all the information in the museum before moving on to the castle!

Really cool… If you’re 10… The actual exhibit itself was cool but talk about sensory overload. From the beginning you’re hearing everything from the beginning of it to the end, counters counting, beeps… way to much noise… they also forgot to give us the audio piece at the beginning of the self tour… I would recommend it if you have kids, if not .Take a pass.

My history loving 12 year old devoured every offering at the visitor center, before exploring the castle to his heart’a delight. Very satisfying experience!

A great spot to visit while in town. There is a great museum entrance with exhibits and information along the way to the castle itself. Once though the exhibit section you’ll be in the courtyard of the castle and be able to explore different portions of the building. All along the way you’ll see interesting historical facts. Once you reach the upper towers and roof too you’ll have an amazing panoramic view of Limerick.
Well worth the stop and time spent here!

Wonderful presentation of such a historic castle!
We easily spent several hours visiting. The presentation of the history information leading up to the castle being built and the culture of the castle life was well done and easily to follow through.
Make sure you go to the top for breathtaking views of the city!
It’s an easy walk from the downtown area and worth every penny for the admission fee!

It starts with lots and lots and lots and lots and then some more lots of information and history about the castle. But its good stuff!
Afterwards you get to explore the actual castle’s rooms and towers… its awesome! This is the kind of castle I would have built with Legos as a kid.
10euro, worth every penny.

In the last 30 years, King John’s Castle has moved from a state of relative neglect to a a state of relative grooviness. On my first visit, aged about seven, my Dad had to hold me by the scruff of my collar to prevent me from falling and hurting myself on the uneven old flagstones. This was of course before health and safety regulations were invented in Ireland. I distinctly remember weeds growing on the walls of the castle itself, making it look sad and decrepit.
The sprucing up for the 1991 Treaty 300 celebrations were an improvement, but the current exhibits and interactive displays are really cool. Apparently one of the people behind the Titanic experience in Belfast worked on the new interactive displays, and combining these with access to the layers of archaeological remains makes for a really great experience. There’s quite a lot of the castle to just walk around, and some great views of the Shannon estuary and of the city from the ramparts and the courtyard. A great way to spend a couple of hours.

If you’re a child at heart like me and enjoy exploring castles, this is a good place to go. You get to go through most of what’s left of the castle, but you can’t climb to the very top :/​liabilities and whatnot. There’s a lot of history too, if you feel like taking the time to read it. That’s optinal of course.

Another one of the firsts we saw while in Ireland.
Definitely a place to see while in Limerick.
The castle is an imposing structure with loads of history and beautiful views!

King John’s (built in the early 1200s) is a big castle with a big history. It’s had big money spent on it too — the flashy main entrance leads to a multi-​level interpretive centre that recounts the turbulent history of the castle and the area. You can still access the walls and towers, and view things like the early sallyport, armoury, and some pre-​Norman (maybe Viking) foundations. It’s a bit cheerless and empty on the inside, but the views of the Shannon are pretty, and if (like me) you’re a castle nut you’ll appreciate the interesting fortifications that were ground-​breaking for the times.

The castle was built between 1200 and 1210 and repaired and extended many times in the following centuries. The castle has an interpretive centre and a historical exhibition. The courtyard and the castle display some of the trades and traditions of the 16^th century with costumed characters. A great place to visit when in Limerick.

This Castle built on the orders of King John in the early 13^th C. occupies a commanding position on the southern bank of the River Shannon, here in Limerick, on what was the site of an earlier Viking settlement.
Limerick, (Luimneach), now the third largest city in Ireland, prospered as a port and trading centre under Norman rule, and the city was divided into two areas: «English Town» on the north side of the Shannon, while here on the south side another settlement, named «Irish Town» grew up.
A mint was established a mint in the north west tower of the castle. Today slightly comical wax figures are shown making coins stamped with Kings John’s head.
And in another part of the castle you can even see King John himself scowling on his throne, though he never actually came here.
This was a five-​sided castle, with high curtain walls surrounding a rectangular yard, it has been repaired and rebuilt many times over the years, particularly after being severely damaged in the Siege of Limerick 1642. Later In the 18^th C, a military barracks was built within the castle.
Today the southside is entirely occupied by a not terribly attractive modern building, through which you enter, though inside it’s great, containing a very good museum/​exhibition, with excellent audio/​visual displays & a gift shop, beneath which are visable archaeological excavations from the Pre-​Norman settlement.
It’s a fun castle lots of space, you can climb up the winding stone steps to one of the towers, disappointingly if you’re as much of a kid as I am, you can’t go along all of the battlements & towers, although it looks like you should be able to.
It’s all very well maintained, and imaginatively they have gone some way to recreating the medieval atmosphere in the spacious courtyard, there’s even a gallows!