Dromoland Castle

Four square towers of grey limestone stand over the lake at Dromoland, in County Clare, with the battlements and pinnacles of a Gothic Revival castle built in 1835 on the site of earlier O'Brien houses. Dromoland Castle has taken guests since 1963, and its 450 acres lie 15 minutes by road from Shannon Airport, which has made it the first and last night of countless American tours of Ireland.

History

The O'Briens, who claim descent from Brian Boru, High King of Ireland until his death at Clontarf in 1014, held Dromoland for centuries, and the Barons and later Earls of Inchiquin lived here. The present castle was built for Sir Edward O'Brien, fourth baronet, between 1826 and 1835, replacing a Queen Anne house whose walled garden and gates survive. Donough O'Brien, the sixteenth Baron Inchiquin, sold the castle and 350 acres in 1962 to Bernard McDonough, an American industrialist from West Virginia, who opened it as a hotel the following year. The family moved to Thomond House on the remaining estate. A consortium of Irish-American investors bought the hotel in 1987 and still owns it. In June 2004 the EU-US summit was held at the castle, with George W. Bush staying; it has also received Irish presidents, Nelson Mandela and visiting heads of state.

Architecture and design

The castle is the work of James Pain and George Richard Pain, the brothers who also began Adare Manor, in the castellated Gothic style with asymmetric towers, hood-moulded windows and a porte-cochère. Inside, the Gallery, the Drawing Room and the library are hung with O'Brien portraits bought back for the hotel. A refurbishment completed in 2019 redecorated public rooms and bedrooms and built a new spa. The gardens include a walled garden laid out in the eighteenth century and a temple folly by the lake.

Rooms and suites

The hotel has 97 rooms and suites, within the castle and in later wings, including Queen Anne Suites in the older part of the house and tower suites in the turrets. Rooms in the castle proper have the highest ceilings and views over the lake or the parkland, and the wings, built for the hotel, hold the standard rooms.

Dining

The Earl of Thomond is the formal restaurant, with a harpist in the evenings and a menu of Irish produce; the Gallery serves afternoon tea and lighter meals; the Fig Tree, at the golf clubhouse, is the informal restaurant; and the Cocktail Bar serves drinks under the stairs. The Dromoland Golf and Country Club, with its own clubhouse, sits on the estate.

Wellness

The spa opened with the 2019 refurbishment, with a thermal suite, treatment rooms and an indoor pool. The estate offers an 18-hole parkland golf course, falconry with a Harris hawk, archery, clay shooting, fishing on the lake, horse riding and tennis.

Weddings and events

Dromoland is one of the busiest castle wedding venues in Ireland. The Brian Boru Hall, a purpose-built suite, is the main reception room; civil ceremonies are held in the castle's state rooms or the walled garden, and smaller parties use the Earl of Thomond. For conferences the Brian Boru Hall divides into sections and the hotel has several boardrooms; it has hosted the EU-US summit and corporate events for the Shannon industrial zone for decades.

Location

The castle is at Newmarket-on-Fergus, off the N18 between Shannon and Ennis, 15 minutes from Shannon Airport and 25 from Limerick. Galway is an hour north, the Cliffs of Moher and the Burren about an hour west, and Dublin two and a half hours east. For a luxury hotel in County Clare it has an unusual convenience: transatlantic flights land a quarter of an hour away, which is why it has so often been the first stop for American visitors.