Bunratty Castle

Bunratty Castle

A medieval castle brought back to life

In County Clare, in the west of Ireland, stands a castle that lets visitors step straight into the Middle Ages: Bunratty Castle. While many Irish castles are romantic ruins, Bunratty is the most complete and authentic medieval castle in the whole country, carefully restored and filled with furniture, tapestries and treasures so that it looks much as it did some five hundred years ago. Walking through its halls feels like travelling back in time.

A tower house of the chieftains

The castle we see today was built around 1425 by the powerful MacNamara family, and later became the great stronghold of the O'Briens, the kings and earls of Thomond, one of the most important families in the west of Ireland. It is a large and fine example of an Irish tower house, with a great hall, private chambers, winding stairs and battlements.

The site itself had been fortified long before, guarding an important crossing point near the river Shannon. Several earlier castles stood here over the centuries before the present one was raised.

A hall fit for a feast

The heart of Bunratty is its Great Hall, a grand room that was once the banqueting and audience hall of the earls of Thomond. Today it is hung with tapestries and lit by candlelight, and it hosts famous medieval banquets, where guests are welcomed by costumed staff, served a hearty feast, and entertained with music and song in the old style. These banquets have delighted visitors from around the world for decades.

The folk park

Beside the castle spreads the Bunratty Folk Park, a wonderful recreation of Irish village and country life of long ago. Here visitors can wander through old farmhouses, cottages, a village street with shops, a school and a pub, all furnished as they would have been a hundred or more years ago. Costumed villagers go about traditional crafts, and farm animals add to the scene.

Together, the castle and folk park tell the story of Ireland across the centuries — from the age of medieval lords to the daily life of ordinary country people.

A great restoration

By the early 20th century, Bunratty Castle had fallen into disrepair. But in the 1950s it was bought and magnificently restored, and filled with one of the finest collections of medieval and later furniture and art in Ireland. This restoration turned a crumbling tower into the living museum we can enjoy today.

Visiting today

Visitors can explore the castle's great hall, chambers and battlements, climbing for views over the surrounding countryside, then step out into the folk park to experience old Irish life. In the evenings, the famous medieval banquets bring the great hall to glowing, musical life. Complete, authentic and endlessly engaging, Bunratty Castle is one of the very best places in Ireland to discover what life was really like in the age of castles.