Museums and Attractions

Blackrock Castle was originally built on the River Lee in 1582 by the Cork citizens as a fort to protect the city against pirates and invaders. Such defence measures were necessary as Cork was a city of trade and merchant ships required a safe harbour.

The watch tower re-opened to the public in August 2007 in its new guise as Blackrock Castle Observatory.

'Cosmos at the Castle' is an international, award-winning, interactive astronomy exhibit. Four cinema sized screens explain about astronomical features such as the Big Bang, the evolution of life on Earth and pose the question 'Are we alone in the Universe?'.

The Observatory offers daily behind the scenes theatrical tours for Cosmos visitors. Lady Castle, a 16th century time traveller, leads visitors on twice daily historical tours, from the dungeon up to the 85 steps to the watch tower.

Visitors can also tackle The Comet Chaser game and try to save the planet from a comet on a collision course with Earth.

Blackrock Castle Observatory also houses a team of scientists working on the latest technology in their search for planets around distant stars.