Swords Castle & one more place to visit in Swords
This is a list led by castles or historic places, 7 of its 12. There are 2 places to visit inside Swords’ urban area, and 10 more within 5 km of its edge. Inside 1 km of the middle lie 2 of them. Dublin Castle is worth a day, 13 km from the centre.
Swords’ big names
Beyond Swords Castle, there are 2 castles, an abbey or priory and a historic house.
CastleSwords Castlein townAbbey or prioryAbbey or priorySwords Round Tower & Belfryin town
CastleMalahide Castle2.2 km outside town, to the eastHistoric houseHistoric houseNewbridge House & Farm3.2 km outside town, to the northeast
CastleDunsoghly Castle4.4 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumCasino Model Railway Museum2.5 km outside town, to the eastEach has a page of its own: what it is, who runs it, the weather month by month and what else is near it.
Where to find them
Close by, the 10 mostly lie to the east.
The dashed line is Swords’ urban area; orange marks its middle (where most people live). Numbers match the list below. © OpenStreetMap contributors · CSO 2022 outline
What sort of places
7 castles or historic places and 3 zoos, theme parks or other days out top the count.
Green: inside Swords. Grey: within 5 km of its edge.
The full list
12 places in all: 2 in town and 10 within 5 km of its edge.
Newbridge House & Farm
Estate turned park, with historic buildings and show farm.
Casino Model Railway Museum
O gauge model railway in Malahide in the Republic of Ireland originally created by Cyril Fry.
The 2 inside Swords come first, best known first; then the places within 5 km, close and well known first. Churches, protected structures and monuments belong to the History page, not here.
Monuments and historic buildings in Swords → · Parks, footpaths and green space in Swords →
For a day out
Most famous of the 12 is Dublin Castle, 13 km from the centre.
Big drawMuseumNational Museum of Ireland13 km south · 783K visitors a year
CathedralSt Patrick's Cathedral13 km south
MuseumNational Library of Ireland13 km south
Historic houseLeinster House13 km south
Big drawZooDublin Zoo12 km south · 1.3M visitors a year (2022)
CathedralChrist Church Cathedral13 km south
Art galleryNational Gallery of Ireland13 km south
Garden · Office of Public WorksSaint Stephen's Green14 km south
Museum · Office of Public WorksChester Beatty13 km south
Museum · Office of Public WorksKilmainham Gaol14 km south
MuseumIrish Museum of Modern Art14 km southPlaces well known beyond Swords (Wikipedia articles in several languages, published visitor counts, or a Office of Public Works or National Parks and Wildlife Service property), close and famous first. Distances are straight lines from the middle of the town.
Seeing Swords: questions
What are the main attractions in Swords?
The best known inside Swords’ urban area are Swords Castle and Swords Round Tower & Belfry. In all, 2 places to visit are mapped inside the town, and 10 more within 5 km.
Does Swords have a museum?
2 museums and galleries are in or within 5 km of Swords: Casino Model Railway Museum and Malahide Historical Society Museum.
Is there a Heritage Ireland (OPW) or national park property near Swords?
None within 5 km. The nearest well-known one on our list is Dublin Castle (Office of Public Works), 13 km south.
What are the best-known days out near Swords?
Within 40 km: Dublin Castle (13 km), National Museum of Ireland (13 km), St Patrick's Cathedral (13 km), National Library of Ireland (13 km).
How is this list made?
From Fáilte Ireland’s open data on attractions (museums, castles, historic houses, abbeys, gardens, national parks, landscapes, islands, zoos and visitor farms: restaurants, pubs, shops and tour operators are left out), OpenStreetMap (places open to visitors; a ruined castle on farmland needs a sign it can be visited) and Wikidata (what each place is, who looks after it, its Wikipedia articles), merged into one list and placed in the town’s CSO 2022 outline or within 5 km of its edge.
Places to visit: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0), © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in each town’s CSO 2022 outline. Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (15)
- Swords Castle: William Murphy, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Malahide Castle: William Murphy from Dublin, Ireland, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Dunsoghly Castle: Mike Searle, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Casino Model Railway Museum: William Murphy from Dublin, Ireland, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- National Museum of Ireland: Photograph by Mike Peel ( www.mikepeel.net )., CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- St Patrick's Cathedral: Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- National Library of Ireland: YvonneM, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Leinster House: Jean Housen, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Dublin Zoo: Harold Strong, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Christ Church Cathedral: Ingo Mehling, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- National Gallery of Ireland: Copyright © 2006 Kaihsu Tai, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Saint Stephen's Green: Dronepicr (edited by King of Hearts ) Edit corrects CA and sharpens image, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Chester Beatty: Aligatorek, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kilmainham Gaol: Nol Aders, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Irish Museum of Modern Art: self, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).