Places to visit in Ballybane, led by Merlinpark Castle
Galway City Museum welcomed 162K visitors in 2011. There are 2 places to visit inside Ballybane’s neighbourhood, and 25 more within 5 km of its edge. They include 8 museums, 5 castles and 5 art galleries. A drive of 30 km brings you to Burren National Park.
Where to start in Ballybane
Next to Merlinpark Castle, the best known are 2 castles, a cathedral and a museum.
CastleMerlinpark Castlein town
CastleKilleen Castle, Castlegarin town
CathedralGalway Cathedral3.3 km outside town, to the west
MuseumGalway City Museum3.1 km outside town, to the west · 162K visitors a year (2011)
CastleOranmore Castle1.2 km outside town, to the southeast
GardenEyre Square2.7 km outside town, to the westEach has a page of its own: what it is, who runs it, the weather month by month and what else is near it.
Places on the map
Close by, the 25 mostly lie to the west.
The dashed line is Ballybane’s neighbourhood; orange marks its middle (where most people live). Numbers match the list below. © OpenStreetMap contributors · CSO 2022 outline
By kind
Ahead are museums or galleries (13); next, castles or historic places (10).
Green: inside Ballybane. Grey: within 5 km of its edge.
In Ballybane first, then nearby
It starts in town with 2 places and goes on to 25 within 5 km of its edge.
7
8
9
10
11Computing and Communications Museum of Ireland
Museum at the University of Galway.
13Hall of the Red Earl
Accessible archaeological site of a former banqueting hall in Druid Lane, Galway.
The 2 inside Ballybane 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 Ballybane → · Parks, footpaths and green space in Ballybane →
Within a day
The standout of the 12 is Burren National Park, 30 km from town.
National parkBurren National Park30 km south
CastleDunguaire Castle16 km south
CastleAthenry Castle16 km east
CastleAughnanure Castle24 km northwest
AttractionAillwee Cave24 km southwest
CathedralCathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary27 km north
Abbey or prioryCorcomroe Cistercian Abbey18 km south
MuseumThoor Ballylee25 km southeast
Abbey or priory · Office of Public WorksKilmacduagh monastery27 km south
Abbey or prioryRoss Errilly Abbey24 km northwest
CathedralSt Brendan's Cathedral30 km east
AttractionPol an Ionain36 km southwestPlaces well known beyond Ballybane (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 Ballybane: your questions
What are the main attractions in Ballybane?
The best known inside Ballybane’s neighbourhood are Merlinpark Castle and Killeen Castle, Castlegar. In all, 2 places to visit are mapped inside the town, and 25 more within 5 km.
Does Ballybane have a museum?
13 museums and galleries are in or within 5 km of Ballybane: Galway City Museum, James Mitchell Museum, Computing and Communications Museum of Ireland and Hall of the Red Earl.
Is there a Heritage Ireland (OPW) or national park property near Ballybane?
None within 5 km. The nearest well-known one on our list is Kilmacduagh monastery (Office of Public Works), 27 km south.
What are the best-known days out near Ballybane?
Within 40 km: Burren National Park (30 km), Dunguaire Castle (16 km), Athenry Castle (16 km), Aughnanure Castle (24 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 (24)
- Merlinpark Castle: dougf, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Killeen Castle, Castlegar: Irimurz, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Galway Cathedral: Mohd Fazlin Mohd Effendy Ooi, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Galway City Museum: 瑞丽江的河水, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Oranmore Castle: KevinSchnippkoweit, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Eyre Square: Sharon Hahn Darlin, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Lynch's Castle: Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Claregalway Friary: Charles Mount/ Cmount, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Galway Atlantaquaria: GalwayAquarium, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Mitchell Museum: Sharonlflynn, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Blake's Castle: Gillfoto, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Hall of the Red Earl: A.-K. D., CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Burren National Park: The Banner, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Dunguaire Castle: Boomur, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Athenry Castle: Ingo Mehling, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Aughnanure Castle: The original uploader was Miguev at English Wikipedia ., CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Aillwee Cave: MarvinVells, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary: TuamRCCathedral.jpg : JohnArmagh derivative work: Rabanus Flavus, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Corcomroe Cistercian Abbey: Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Thoor Ballylee: Dr Charles Nelson, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kilmacduagh monastery: Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Ross Errilly Abbey: The original uploader was Dppowell at English Wikipedia ., CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons
- St Brendan's Cathedral: Vanessa Kennedy, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Pol an Ionain: P.hammer, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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).