Bunratty Castle & Folk Park
Caisleán Bhun Raite
A fully restored 15th-century tower castle, with a folk park next door that recreates a 19th-century Irish rural village.
Bunratty Castle was built around 1425 and is Ireland's most completely restored and best-furnished medieval tower house. Its interior is furnished as it would have been in the 15th and 16th centuries, with furniture, tapestries, and weapons. You can climb all the way to the top of the tower via narrow spiral staircases. The 26-acre Bunratty Folk Park next door recreates a 19th-century Irish village, with thatched farmhouses, a blacksmith's forge, a school, a post office, and village streets. Costumed staff demonstrate baking bread and weaving. A medieval banquet in the castle in the evening (reservations required) is a classic experience. A combined ticket for the castle and park costs about 17 euros. Next door, Durty Nelly's is a famous old pub. Bunratty is about 15 kilometers from Limerick, roughly 25 minutes by bus in the direction of Shannon Airport.
Opening hours
Roughly 09:00–17:30 (last entry 16:15; extended in summer)
Nearby sights
- Knappogue Castle
- Craggaunowen
- Curraghchase Forest Park
- Quin Abbey
- Adare
- Thomond Park
- Frank McCourt Museum
- Treaty Stone & Thomond Bridge