Bunratty · County Clare
The Earl's Butler raises a goblet of honey mead, and the castle singers fill the hall between courses.
The mead is sweeter than you expect, and the singing starts before dessert.
Worth it, or touristy?
Mostly yes. If you want a long-running, visitor-friendly dinner in a real 15th-century castle and you are happy that it is staged for travellers. It is touristy by design: the castle says the banquets began in 1963 to give transatlantic passengers a reason to leave their aircraft at Shannon. You get a four-course meal, wine and honey mead, and the castle singers between courses, in roughly two and a half hours. If you want a quiet, historically exact dinner, look elsewhere.
A themed banquet inside Bunratty Castle, a restored tower house beside the Ratty river near Shannon Airport. The Earl's Butler welcomes you and tells the castle's history, the meal comes in four courses with mead and wine, and singers and musicians perform between them. The booking says more than 3 million people have attended since the banquets began.
Do not expect a reconstruction of a 15th-century menu, not a tour of the castle's rooms and not a show for very small children. It is not suitable for children under four, and the castle is not wheelchair accessible. The castle asks guests to leave once the banquet finishes, so there is no wandering the building afterwards.
Couples, groups and families with older children who want one set-piece evening in Ireland. It pairs well with a daytime visit to the castle and folk park, which is a separate ticket and a slower pace. Check the calendar: the castle says banquets run nightly in the high season, and in winter dates depend on demand.
The banquet in four facts
How the evening runs
Five parts, in the order the booking and the castle give them. Details for your own night arrive with your confirmation.
Nothing here promises a particular dish, song or performer on the night you go.
The booking says the Earl's Butler welcomes guests and tells the castle's history before the meal. The castle's banquet page adds that you get a short insight into the castle's history while you taste the mead. It is a spoken welcome aimed at visitors from many countries, and it sets the tone for the evening.
Mead is honey fermented with water, and Wikipedia says it was a popular drink in medieval Ireland. The booking lists wine and honey mead with the meal, and the castle says guests can also have red or white wine and water. How sweet the mead tastes depends on the maker, since Wikipedia says mead can be sweet, semi-sweet or dry.
The booking promises a four-course meal, and the castle says the dining happens in the Great Hall. A vegetarian dish is available, and other dietary needs should be put in when you book. The menu changes over time, so none is printed here.
Entertainment comes from the Bunratty Castle Singers and musicians, who perform between courses, according to the booking. The castle describes music, song and dance while you dine. This site names no performers and promises no particular song.
The castle says tea and coffee are served in the basement once the banquet has ended, and that guests are asked to leave the castle when the show finishes. Work out the way back before you go, because the castle's travel page covers arriving rather than leaving.
Evening banquet or day visit
From booking to the last song
Five steps from the first click to the walk out, as a guest meets them. Your confirmation carries whatever is particular to your date.
Open the calendar for the dates on sale; the booking page flags this evening as likely to sell out. Give a day's notice to cancel for free, and know that a booking holds up to ten places. Add any dietary need now.
Bunratty Castle & Folk Park stands just off the N18 between Limerick and Galway, and the castle says it is about a ten-minute drive from Shannon Airport. A free car park serves the site, and the castle says buses and taxis serve Bunratty.
The castle has no lift, and its entrance is up a flight of timber steps. That is why the booking says the banquet is not suitable for wheelchair users. Take your confirmation with you.
Roughly two and a half hours of welcome, four courses, mead and wine, with the castle singers and musicians between courses. Seating is decided by the duty manager on the night.
Tea and coffee follow in the basement, and then guests are asked to leave the castle. Have your transport arranged, because the castle's travel page covers arriving rather than late departures.
What the ticket covers
Eight lines on what the ticket includes and what it leaves out.
The castle, the hall and the river
The Great Hall in daylight, the river bend below the castle, then a carved antler chandelier, a thatched farmhouse in the folk park, an English manuscript's dining scene and the Cliffs of Moher.
More of Clare to book around it
The banquet comes first, then the castle and folk park by day and two ways to reach the Cliffs of Moher.
A four-course medieval banquet in a restored 15th-century castle near Shannon, with wine, honey mead and the castle singers between courses, about two and a half hours.
A self-paced day visit to the restored tower house and the 19th-century folk park around it, valid for one day.
A short boat tour from Doolin that views the Cliffs of Moher from the water.
A guided full-day tour from Limerick to the Cliffs of Moher, about eight hours.
Other bookings around Limerick and Shannon
Practical notes
Further reading
FAQ
Yes, if you want a themed dinner with live singing in a real castle and you accept that it is staged for visitors. Skip it if you want a quiet, historically exact meal. Plenty of visitors add a daytime visit to the castle.
It is a visitor show by design. The castle says it began in 1963 to bring transatlantic passengers off their flights at Shannon. The castle itself is genuine; the staging is for travellers.
Roughly two and a half hours, by the booking and by the castle. Look to your confirmation for the start time. One booking-page review felt the evening ended quickly and wanted more time between courses.
Honey mead, red or white wine and water, says the castle. Beer and spirits are not served. Tea and coffee follow in the basement once the banquet has ended.
A vegetarian dish is available. Put other dietary needs in when you book; the castle asks for at least 12 hours' notice.
Not for children under four. The castle has no separate children's menu but says it can give a child-sized portion. Think about whether an evening this long suits your older children.
No. The booking says the castle is not wheelchair accessible, and the castle says there is no lift. The folk park is generally accessible, but the banquet is inside the castle.
The castle says banquets run nightly in the high season, and between October and March it depends on demand. Look at the calendar for the nights open to book.
The castle gives about a ten-minute drive from Shannon Airport and lists buses, trains and taxis for arriving from Limerick, Ennis and Dublin. It does not list late departures, so check those before booking.
Yes, with a separate day-visit ticket. The castle closes to day visitors in the afternoon to prepare for the banquets, so see it by day first and come back for dinner.
The duty manager decides the seating on the night. You can ask for a particular place, but the castle cannot guarantee it.
No. This site stands apart from the castle, its operator and its performers. GetYourGuide sells the tickets, and you book through it.
Each price on the calendar appears in your chosen currency, with taxes and fees counted in.