Bunratty Castle, County Clare
Some eight miles North-West of Limerick city and a few miles from Shannon International Airport on the road to Newmarket-in-Fergus, strategically placed on the Ratty River, is the medieval castle of the O'Briens of Thomond.
The Castle has been restored to its former glory as a medieval fortress and is furnished in contemporary taste with one of the best collections of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century furniture, paintings and tapestries to be seen in these islands.
It was purchased by Lord Gort in 1954 and restored by the owner and the Office of Public Works and the Irish Tourist Board. Medieval banquets are held in the castle, and in the grounds of the castle a folk park of traditional cottages and crafts, such as blacksmiths and candle-makers, has been set up. The magnificent vaulted hail is the central attraction. Off it are the restored chapel and wine cellar, the living quarters of the Earl of Thomond and the huge banqueting room. Circular stairways in the turrets link the three storeys of the massive rectangular building, and the view from the battlements across the estuary of the Shannon River is rewarding.
After the Anglo-Norman invasion of this traditionally O'Brien Kingdom, one Robert Muscegros built the original castle here in 1250. When he died Sir Thomas de Clare built a stone castle which came under repeated attack by the local Irish chieftains and their clansmen. In 1318 at the Battle of Dysart the castle was burnt and the de Clares defeated.
The present castle dates from around 1460 and was built by the MacNamara clan from whom it was taken by the O'Briens.
The medieval banquets performed in the twentieth century re-enact the presiding each night at the sixteenth-century tables of the Earl of Thomond. Entertainment is provided in medieval costume by a choir of talented young lady singers and by traditional harpists and fiddlers and musicians. The fare is of the time of the castle, as is the mead and other drink provided for the repast. The candle-light setting is evocative of the Castle's former gracious days.