Fort Nights: Inside Ireland’s Over-the-Top Castle Hotels

More than 900 years after the Anglo-Normans built their first fortified estates, Ireland remains one of the most castellated countries on earth. But only a few of the Emerald Isle’s historic citadels can claim to be as gloriously grand today as they were during the days of high kings and queens. Here, we raise the portcullises and open the ironclad doors to three extraordinary castles that have not only retained their royal pedigrees but evolved into modern-day manses worthy of a 21st-century stay.