Dunguaire Castle (Irish: Dún Guaire) is a 16th century tower house on the southeastern shore of Galway Bay in County Galway, Ireland, near Kinvara. The castle's 75 foot-tower and its surrounding wall have been restored to excellent condition, and are open to tourists during the summer. It is considered by some to be the most photographed castle in Ireland. A tower house stands on a hillock near Quin along the back road from Limerick to Ennis. ... Galway Bay (Irish: Loch Lurgain or Cuan na Gaillimhe) is a large bay / sea loch on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the district of Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south. ... County Galway (Contae na Gaillimhe in Irish) is located on the west coast of Ireland. ... Kinvara (Irish: Cinn Mhara, meaning head of the sea), a sea port village located in the south of County Galway in the province of Connacht on the west coast of Ireland. ... The defensive wall of BraÅŸov, Romania. ...

The castle was built by the Hynes clan in 1520, a family who may have been associated with the area since 662, when the site is believed to have once been the royal palace of Guaire Aidhne, the legendary king of Connacht and progenitor of the clan. Dunguaire Castle was transferred in the 17th century to Richard Martyn, the mayor of Galway, and remained in his family until it was purchased in the early 20th century by the surgeon and poet Oliver St. John Gogarty. Gogarty began restoring the castle and established it as the meeting place for the leading figures of the Irish Literary Revival, such as W.B. Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Augusta, Lady Gregory, and John Millington Synge. Connaught redirects here. ... Galway (Irish: Gaillimh) is a city in the province of Connacht in Ireland and capital of County Galway. ... Oliver St John Gogarty (August 17, 1878-September 22, 1957) was an Irish physician and surgeon, who was also a poet and writer, one of the most prominent Dublin wits, and for some time a political figure of the Irish Free State. ... The Celtic Revival (c. ... A 1907 engraving of Yeats. ... George Bernard Shaw (July 26, 1856 – November 2, 1950) was an Irish playwright and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1925. ... A photograph of Lady Gregory from her 1913 book Our Irish Theatre Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (15 March 1852–22 May 1932), née Isabella Augusta Persse, was an Irish dramatist and folklorist. ... John Millington Synge John Millington Synge (April 16, 1871 - March 24, 1909) was an Irish dramatist, poet, prose writer, and collector of folklore. ...

The castle was acquired in 1954 by Christobel Lady Ampthill, who completed the restoration work started by Gogarty. It was later purchased by Shannon Development, an Irish corporation that manages numerous historic tourist attractions in Ireland. During the summer months when Dunguaire Castle is open to the public, a Medieval Banquet is held every night with costumed performers who recite Irish literature and play traditional Irish music. For a comparatively small country, Ireland has made a disproportionate contribution to world literature in all its branches. ... Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic politically divided between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. ...