Bunratty Castle in Shannon

You're standing at Bunratty Castle, in the little village of Bunratty in County Clare, close to Shannon and its airport. In Irish the name means 'mouth of the Ratty', the small river that flows past here into the Shannon estuary. Take a good look at this solid block of stone. It's a square fifteenth-century tower house, with a tower on every corner, topped with battlements. See the arch linking the two towers on the north side? That's the main entrance.