Dunbrody House takes small and medium-sized groups for corporate events, team-building days, product launches, incentive trips, private dinners and small weddings. Exclusive use of the whole house is possible for up to 65 guests when all the accommodation is booked as well. The house is an 1830s Georgian country house at Arthurstown, on the Hook Peninsula in County Wexford, on a 300-acre estate of parkland, gardens and woodland.
Seminars and company events
The hotel has hosted corporate groups for many years and describes its offer as small to medium-sized groups. Most proposals are built around the cookery school in the grounds, where a half-day or full-day program can be run as a team-building exercise or simply for the pleasure of cooking and tasting. The owner and chef, Kevin Dundon, designs the menus. Meeting facilities and several break-out rooms are available, so a group can keep the working day, the cooking and the meals on one site. The official site gives no seating figures for the meeting rooms, so ask for the layout and numbers that suit your agenda.
Other team activities include a corporate cook-off, a brew-your-own-beer session, and, for more active groups, coasteering, sea kayaking and surfing on the Hook Peninsula. Online cook-along sessions with the chef can also be arranged. Packages are offered on a residential or non-residential basis.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings here are deliberately small. The Opera Suite hosts up to 22 guests, with at least five bedrooms booked. For exclusive use of the house the maximum is 65 guests, with all the accommodation booked. The hotel publishes a short list of available dates for small wedding parties, and a viewing can be arranged before you commit. A date can be held provisionally for seven days before a deposit is due.
Rooms and capacities
The house has 22 bedrooms and suites. The Opera Suite is the named event space on the wedding pages, and the estate also holds a traditional pub, a cookery school and a restaurant. The hotel's spa was closed for refurbishment when the events page was last updated, so confirm what is open on your dates.
Accommodation
With 22 bedrooms, the house sleeps a group on its own, and the hotel notes that exclusive use of all the bedrooms can be offered at an attractive rate. Estate lodges and a cabin in the woods add further accommodation on the grounds. The hotel is a member of Ireland's Blue Book.
Catering
Food is a central part of the offer. The restaurant, a champagne and seafood bar and a pub with Dunbrody-brewed craft beers all sit under the same owners, and the kitchen is led by Kevin Dundon. Private dining for small parties is available, and wedding menus are designed by the chef.
History and setting
The house dates from the 1830s and has been the home of Kevin and Catherine Dundon for more than 30 years. Open fires, period features and walks through woodland and parkland give it the feel of a family country house rather than a conference hotel.
Getting there
Dunbrody House is about two hours by road from Dublin and from Cork. It stands in Arthurstown on the Hook Peninsula, which also gives groups access to the coast for outdoor activities.
