Background
Bunratty Castle's history
From a Norman earthwork to a 15th-century tower house, the Earls of Thomond, decay and a 1950s restoration that led to the banquets.
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Bunratty Castle is a 15th-century tower house on the Ratty river in County Clare. Earlier castles stood nearby, the MacNamara family and then the O'Briens held the present one, and it fell into disrepair before a restoration in the 1950s. The banquets began in 1963, after it reopened to visitors.
The name and the site
Wikipedia says Bunratty means the mouth of the Ratty river, which flows past the castle into the Shannon estuary. The castle stands in the village of Bunratty beside the N18 road between Limerick and Ennis, near Shannon Town and its airport. The site sits where the river meets tidal water, a good place for a stronghold guarding the approach to Limerick, and earlier fortifications stood in the area before the present building.
Earlier castles
The castle's history page says the story begins around 1250, when the Norman adventurer Robert De Muscegros chose this bend of the Shannon for a fortress, first an earthen mound with a wooden tower. His land later passed to Thomas De Clare, who built the first stone castle here. Wikipedia says it was attacked several times and destroyed in 1318 after a battle at Dysert O'Dea, and that further castles followed. The one you see today was the fourth, according to Wikipedia.
The present tower house
The castle's history page says the building took shape around 1425 under the MacNamara family, whose chief, Maccon MacNamara, was a patron of the church. Wikipedia gives a different start, saying building of the present castle began around 1450. Sources therefore disagree by a generation. What both say is that it is a 15th-century tower house, and that the MacNamaras were prolific builders of towers and castles across Thomond.
The O'Briens and the Earls of Thomond
The castle passed to the O'Briens, whom Wikipedia calls the most powerful clan in Munster, by around 1500, while the castle's own history page says 1475. Wikipedia says they made it their chief seat. Under the Tudor policy of surrender and regrant, the earldom of Thomond was created in 1543 for Murrough O'Brien, according to Wikipedia. The castle's history page says the earls ruled North Munster from Bunratty, and that the family later built a new residence at Dromoland.
Decline
After the O'Briens left, the castle passed through a series of families. Wikipedia says the Studdert family moved to the nearby Bunratty House in 1804, leaving the castle to decay, and that in the mid-19th century it was used as a barracks by the Royal Irish Constabulary. The roof of the Great Hall collapsed in the late 19th century. By the mid-20th century the castle was in such poor condition that, in the castle's words, it was nearly lost.
Restoration and the banquets
Viscount Gort, a medieval enthusiast, bought the castle in the 1950s and restored it with the Office of Public Works and other bodies, and furnished it with medieval and early Renaissance pieces. Sources differ on the exact year the castle opened to visitors, giving 1960 or 1962. The banquets followed in 1963. Wikipedia's article on Brendan O'Regan credits him with turning the castle into a tourist attraction with Lord Gort's co-operation, a model later used at other Irish castles.
Frequently asked questions
When was Bunratty Castle built?
The castle's history page says 1425; Wikipedia says building of the present castle began around 1450. Both agree it is 15th century.
Who owned Bunratty Castle?
The MacNamaras built it, the O'Briens, later Earls of Thomond, made it their chief seat, and the Studdert family were the last to live in it.
Who restored the castle?
Viscount Gort bought it in the 1950s and restored it with the Office of Public Works and other bodies.
Sources