Offering a visitor experience like no other, Thoor Ballylee is regarded as a 14th-century towerhouse that was once the home of one of the greatest literary figures in Irish history, W.B. Yeats.
Referred to as ‘the most important public building in Ireland’ by the late Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney, Thoor Ballylee’s close association with the poetry and family of W.B. Yeats has established the tower as an iconic landmark for the area and a ‘resonant site for literary pilgrims from across the globe’.
History of Thoor Ballylee
Built by the de Burgo family, a powerful clan in Galway’s history, Thoor Ballylee was constructed in the 14th century as a fortified tower for the family. It consists of four floors, each with one room, connected by a spiral stone stairway built into the seven-foot thickness of the massive outer wall. Each floor has a window overlooking the river, which flows alongside. At the top here is a flat roof reached by a final steep flight of steps from the floor below.
Set on the bank of the Streamstown River near the market town of Gort, Co Galway, Thoor Ballylee was purchased by W.B. Yeats for £35 in 1916. Yeats and his architect, Professor William A. Scott, spent several years restoring the tower, its associated cottage, and outbuildings, taking great care to use local materials whenever possible.
By purchasing Thoor Ballylee, Yeats fulfilled a lifelong dream to establish his own house in the west of Ireland, and the property served both as a home and as a muse for Yeats.
‘A Prayer for My Daughter’ and ‘Meditations in Time of Civil War’, and many more poems feature the tower’s architecture and setting. Yeats’s books of poems, The Tower (1928 ) and The Winding Stair (1933 ), drew direct inspiration from the ‘tower’s rooted existence’, and featured images and views from Thoor Ballylee designed by the artist, Thomas Sturge Moore, who was a friend of Yeats.
From 1921 to 1929, Yeats and his family spent many summers there, with Yeats’ wife, George, often fishing from a tower window down into the Streamstown River. Increasingly ‘prone to illness’ from 1929, Yeats began to spend his winters abroad, and the tower began to fall into gradual disrepair.
Visiting Thoor Ballylee
In the 1960’s, Thoor Ballylee was restored to its former glory by the late Mary Hanley. It was run by Fáilte Ireland until it closed due to flooding in 2009.
Since 2015, Thoor Ballylee has opened its doors to visitors during the summer, attracting tourists and guests from across the world who are drawn by the site’s exhibitions, events, warm welcome, and vibrant atmosphere, which is managed by the Yeats Thoor Ballylee Society.
The interior of the tower and the studio are open to visitors, along with the idyllic millstream walk, rose-blooming gardens, recently restored mill wheel, the bridge, and the grounds of Thoor Ballylee. There is an on-site shop for books and mementoes.
From May 1 to September 30, Thoor Ballylee is open to visitors from 10:00am until 5:00pm daily.
Tower Admission is €7 for adults (concessions available ) or €6 per person for group visits (minimum of 10 people ). The studio space, downstairs exhibitions and audio-visual room are wheelchair accessible.
To learn more about Thoor Ballylee, visit yeatsthoorballylee.org
