Portumna Castle is a semi-fortified house built, in the reign of James I, close to the shore of Lough Derg near where the river Shannon enters the lake.
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When it was built, Portumna Castle was without equal in Ireland at the time in style, grandeur and distinction, outshining castles at Rathfarnham, Kanturk, Carrickfergus, Charlemont and Burncourt. The elegance of Portumna castle can be attributed to the taste, experience and wealth of its builder, Richard Burke, fourth Earl of Clanricarde, Lord President of Connaught, of the famous de Burgo family of Norman descent. The castle was built around 1610 to 1618 at a cost of £10,000. The Earl also built a mansion at Somerhill, Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent.
Portumna castle was one of the first, if not the first, building in Ireland built in the Renaissance style already common in Italy and France for over a century, but which took a long time to filter through to Ireland. The shell of this great mansion conveys an impression of alien splendour, and the overall effect is unique and has a curiously continental air. The Renaissance features of the exterior are, strictly speaking, limited to the fine doorcase of the front entrance and the Tuscan gateway of the innermost courtyard, but the very layout is an expression of Renaissance ideas. The castle is symmetrical in shape and consists of three stories over a basement with square corner projecting towers. The castle measures 29.7m by 21.2m and the corner towers are 6.5m square with gunports. A central corridor, 3m wide, runs longitudinally from top to bottom, supported by stone walls, which contain numerous recesses and fireplaces. The approach to the castle from the north is elaborate with gardens, avenues and three gates.
Portumna Castle is now a heritage museum of the Wild Geese.