ASHFORD CASTLE

Ashford Castle  (Now a Hotel)  is a medieval castle near Cong in Co Mayo located half your drive from Galway on the shore of Lough Corrib Ireland’s second largest lake. The castle was built in the 13th century by the Anglo-Norman de Bugos family.
Ashford was rebuilt and extended from the 1850s by Benjamin Guinness, and his son Arthur, Lord Ardilaun who took his title from an island on the lake. The Guinnesses sold it in 1945. It was first opened as a luxury hotel in 1939. Today the castle is a five star hotel, one of Ireland's finest.

The drive from Leenane to Cong, visit the castle and drive around Lough Corrib and back to Galway through Headford is a lovely drive