Bunratty Castle
This is a little off-topic and far from the Finn and Derg Valleys. Our first trip to Ireland was in celebration of our (multiple years) wedding anniversary. Although we spent quite a bit of time in Donegal visiting the sites of our Irish roots, we did some travelling around southern Ireland. Before leaving for America from Shannon Airport, we stopped for a day at Bunratty Castle, very close to the airport. Bunratty Castle is like an “Irish Theme Park” and has everything necessary for a quick immersion into Irish culture. There are great pubs near the castle grounds with traditional Irish music; there is a wonderful folk park on the premises; there are shows of Irish music and dancing in the castle; there is the famous medieval banquet in the great hall of the castle; and there is a tour of the castle with its chapels, dungeons, and restored furnishings.
I took the youtube video below of the singers at the Medieval Banquet…
There were several fortifications built at Bunratty over the years, from Viking camps to motte and bailey castles of Norman settlers. The present stone structure was built in 1425 by the MacNamara clan. In 1500, it was captured by the O’Briens of Munster Province who made it the clan’s main headquarters. It remained in the hands of the O’Briens, the Earls of Thomond, for most of its history. Bunratty, meaning “mouth of the Raite River” was an important location for defending the River Shannon. From its battlements at the top of its towers, one can see the Raite, the Shannon, and the beautiful Irish countryside.
