Cork's Blarney Castle among most searched castles in Ireland 

From the medieval strongholds of  Blarney Castle to the fairytale fortresses that dot the European landscape, castles continue to capture the imagination of tourists looking to step back in time

Blarney Castle has been ranked Ireland’s third most popular castle, after Dublin Castle and Malahide Castle. Picture Dan Linehan

Castle tourism has had a surge in popularity in recent months, with Blarney Castle ranked Ireland’s third most popular castle, after Dublin Castle and Malahide Castle.

From the medieval strongholds of Kilkenny Castle and Blarney Castle to the fairytale fortresses that dot the European landscape, castles continue to capture the imagination of tourists looking to step back in time.

Chill Insurance ranked the most visited castles across Ireland and Europe by analysing Google search demand and social media data.

The data puts one of Cork’s most talked about attractions, Blarney Castle, third on the list – racking up 126,560 Instagram posts under the castle hashtag, 4,099 TikTok posts and a monthly search volume of 18,100.

Millions of visitors have flocked to Blarney, making it a world landmark and one of Ireland’s greatest treasures. Picture: Denis Minihane.

Built almost 600 years ago by one of Ireland's most notable chieftains, Cormac MacCarthy, Blarney Castle has been attracting attention ever since. Millions of visitors have flocked to Blarney, making it a world landmark and one of Ireland’s greatest treasures – which might have something to do with the Blarney Stone, the legendary Stone of Eloquence, found at the top of our tower.

The legend of the stone, said to grant the gift of eloquence, or, ‘the gift of the gab’, continues to attract visitors, generating 18,100 monthly online searches and has been featured in almost 5,000 TikTok posts.

The data also shows that Irish searches for "castle tours Ireland" have increased by 80% over the past three months as travellers seek out heritage-rich experiences at home.

Dublin Castle was found to top Ireland's popular castle index, with the Dublin landmark attracting the highest search interest of any castle analysed, generating 135,000 monthly searches from Irish users. It also maintains a significant social media presence, with more than 116,000 Instagram posts and over 3,100 TikTok posts highlighting its enduring appeal among visitors.

Kilkenny Castle, Kilkenny.

Malahide Castle, which earned a popularity score of 7.33 by Chill, was found to have attracted 74,000 monthly searches and stands out as Ireland's most TikTok-famous castle, with almost 5,800 posts about the attraction on the platform. Beyond its historic appeal, the castle has become a popular venue for outdoor events, including its annual Movies on the Lawn series, helping it attract visitors throughout the summer months.

Blarney Castle was ranked the third most popular, while Kilkenny Castle ranked fourth, generating 33,100 monthly searches and more than 57,000 Instagram posts.

Also included in the list were: Rock of Cashel in Tipperary; Ashford Castle in Mayo; Dunluce Castle in Antrim; Bunratty Castle in Clare; Ross Castle in Killarney; and Trim Castle in Meath.

Europe-wide, the data collected shows that Edinburgh Castle is the most popular castle, accumulating an average of 6,600 Irish Google searches a month, followed by Windsor Castle in Berkshire, Prague Castle in Prague, Palace of Versailles in Versailles, and Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome.

Chill Insurance compiled the Castle Popularity Index by analysing online interest and social media engagement for some of Ireland's and Europe's most well-known castles, and each castle was scored across three metrics: Instagram popularity, TikTok popularity and search demand.