Thoor Ballylee
About Yeats’ Tower
The tower or castle that Yeats bought is a sixteenth century Norman castle built by the family de Burgo, or Burke. It consists of four floors with one room on each, connected by a spiral stone stairway built into the seven-foot thickness of the massive outer wall. Each floor has a window overlooking the river which flows alongside. At the top here is a flat roof reached by a final steep flight of steps from the floor below.
There is a great view of the surrounding country including Coole’s Seven Woods, from its parapets. There are two attached cottages, one of which was in ruins. A walled garden is joined to the cottages and across the road a grove of trees. The Cloon river winds through this low-lying, rolling countryside, dropping over a thirty foot waterfall before it flows past Thoor Ballylee and afterwards disappearing into a underground passage on its way to enter the Atlantic Ocean.
Thoor Ballylee provided the inspiration for some of Yeats’ poetry including “The Winding Stair,” and “The Tower” collection. The building is now a Yeatsean museum with exhibits and an audio-visual on the poet’s life and works. To discover more about W.B. Yeat’s and his connections to South Galway see the Lady Gregory Yeats Heritage Trail.
Thoor Ballylee: What to expect
Contact
Phone: +353 (0) 91 631436 (weekdays 10am-2pm, weekends 11am-5pm)
Email: [email protected]. .
Web: www.yeatsthoorballylee.org
Thoor Ballylee Location Map
Thoor Ballylee FAQs
What are the most interesting facts about Thoor Ballylee?
Thoor Ballylee, near Gort, was once owned by the renowned Nobel Prize laureate, poet, and senator W.B. Yeats. It also served as his residence and appeared in the classic film “The Quiet Man.”
The iconic winding staircase, immortalized in Yeats’ poem entitled ‘The Winding Stair’, leads to the rooftop with breathtaking views of south Galway and the Burren., while the interior rooms are elegantly furnished in Yeats’ era style.
Is there a history tour of Thoor Ballylee available?
At the tower, there is an informative audio-visual presentation which recounts the life and legacy of W.B. Yeats, available in multiple languages. Push-button audio narratives in various tower rooms provide insights into Yeats’ literary world. After touring the tower, we recommend exploring the area with a scenic riverside walk to an ancient mill with several restored outbuildings.
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