Go back

Norman Castles

Episode number: 1

Overview: Simon Delaney celebrates the stunning citadels of Eire. The Norman invasion of Ireland in the 12th century led to the mass-building of castles across the isle.

Don’t Mess with a Knight

Episode number: 2

Overview: What have the Normans ever done for us? Simon Delaney salutes the Norman knights who led a castle building spree in Eire during the 13th and 14th centuries.

The Fightback

Episode number: 3

Overview: An educational journey around Ireland's fortresses. As Irish clans resisted Anglo-Norman settlers in the 1400s and 1500s, a new type of castle emerged: the tower house.

A Century Of Turmoil

Episode number: 4

Overview: Simon Delaney takes viewers to the castles - from Limerick to Kilkenny - that played integral roles in the bloodiest period of Irish history: the 17th century.

A Taste for Gothic

Episode number: 5

Overview: With the advent of the cannon in the 18th and 19th centuries, castles such as Tullynally morphed from military strongholds into lordly family homes.

End of Empire

Episode number: 6

Overview: As political and social unrest swept Ireland in the 20th century, debt-ridden castles fell into disrepair and into the hands of the nouveau riche.