Days Out NI
Castle & ruin Newtownstewart

Harry Avery's Castle

A rare Gaelic stone castle on a Tyrone hilltop, free to visit any day.

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NewtownstewartCastle & ruin
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Harry Avery's Castle — A rare Gaelic stone castle on a Tyrone hilltop, free to visit any day.

  • Getting in: Free, no booking. Open-access State Care monument under the Department for Communities.
  • Opening: Open daylight hours year-round; access can be restricted during occasional maintenance.
  • Inside: It is a roofless stone ruin. You can walk up to and among the towers and courtyard, but there are no rooms to tour.
  • Dogs: No specific guidance published; it is an open rural site, so keep dogs under control near livestock.
  • Parking: No dedicated car park. The site is reached on foot across a field from the minor road towards Rakelly; park considerately.
  • Food: None on site. Cafés and shops in Newtownstewart, a couple of minutes away.
Plan your visit

Twin towers and a vanished hall

The standing ruin is the most striking part of the visit: two great D-shaped towers fronting a rectangular block. It looks like the gatehouse of a Norman castle such as Carrickfergus, but study of the stonework shows it was built in one phase as a tower house, not converted from anything older. A vaulted basement was entered through a large door between the towers, with a hall on the floor above reached from the courtyard. The southern tower still holds the line of a spiral stair, and you can pick out single windows in the rounded walls and the slot where a draw-bar once secured the door.

Free Open access Around 1320 Twin D-shaped towers Strule valley views Short uphill walk
Good to know before you go:

State Care castles and heritage sites across Northern Ireland host seasonal tours, living-history days and open events through the year. Check what is on before you travel.

Before you set off

What to bring

  • 👟Sturdy shoesRuins mean uneven ground, worn steps and the odd spiral stair.
  • 🧥A coatMost of it is open to the sky, so dress for the day and enjoy the fresh air.
  • 📷A cameraThe old stonework and the views are the whole point — you will want photos.
  • 💧Water and a snackFew ruins have a café right on site, so bring a little something.
Good to know

Everything before you go

Getting in
Free, no booking. Open-access State Care monument under the Department for Communities.
Opening
Open daylight hours year-round; access can be restricted during occasional maintenance.
Can you go inside
It is a roofless stone ruin. You can walk up to and among the towers and courtyard, but there are no rooms to tour.
Food
None on site. Cafés and shops in Newtownstewart, a couple of minutes away.
Dogs
No specific guidance published; it is an open rural site, so keep dogs under control near livestock.
Parking
No dedicated car park. The site is reached on foot across a field from the minor road towards Rakelly; park considerately.
Accessibility
Limited. The castle sits high on a hill with a short uphill walk over grass, not suitable for wheelchairs or buggies.
How long to allow
Around 30 to 45 minutes, plus the walk up.
Address
Old Castle Road, Newtownstewart, BT82 8DY
Questions

Before you go

Is it free to visit?
Free, no booking. Open-access State Care monument under the Department for Communities.
Can you go inside?
It is a roofless stone ruin. You can walk up to and among the towers and courtyard, but there are no rooms to tour.
When is it open?
Open daylight hours year-round; access can be restricted during occasional maintenance.
Can I bring the dog?
No specific guidance published; it is an open rural site, so keep dogs under control near livestock.
Where do I park?
No dedicated car park. The site is reached on foot across a field from the minor road towards Rakelly; park considerately.
Getting there

Harry Avery's Castle is at Old Castle Road, Newtownstewart, BT82 8DY. No dedicated car park. The site is reached on foot across a field from the minor road towards Rakelly; park considerately. Tap below for directions.

Directions on Google MapsOfficial website See it on our map
Nearby

Make more of the day

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The story

The story of Harry Avery's Castle

The castle is named after Henry Aimhréidh O'Neill, anglicised as Harry Avery, a Gaelic chief of the powerful O'Neill family. The Annals of the Four Masters record his death on the feast day of St Brendan in 1392, praising his justice, nobility and hospitality. The standing castle is usually dated to around 1320, built by a chieftain of the O'Neill clan.

What makes the ruin so unusual is that it is a stone castle raised by a Gaelic Irish chief at a time when native chieftains rarely built in stone. Its twin D-shaped towers borrow the look of Norman strongholds like Carrickfergus, but behind the fashionable front it worked as a tower house and hall rather than a true gatehouse.

The site passed out of Gaelic hands during the upheavals of the early 1600s, and the castle was captured by the English in 1609. With its military life over, the stonework was robbed and used as a quarry for building material, which is why so little stands today.

What remains is now a State Care monument under the guardianship of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency and the Department for Communities. The two D-towers, the courtyard mound, the curtain-wall foundations, a draw-bar slot and a latrine chute survive to tell the plan of a rare hilltop Gaelic castle.