Castle Durrow in Durrow, County Laois, hosts weddings and private celebrations in a ballroom, private dining rooms and reception rooms, with 48 rooms across the main house and its courtyards. It is a family-run country house hotel built in 1716, set in gardens and parkland.
Weddings and receptions
A wedding can start the evening before. The family describes a buffet in one of the private dining rooms in the Main House, then cocktails in Hunters Bar. On the day, the couple and bridal party can get ready in the Tiffany Glam Room, a dedicated space with natural light.
The ceremony can be held in the Ballroom, outdoors with the gardens as the backdrop, or in one of the local churches in Durrow, a short distance from the house. The drinks reception takes place on the terrace in spring and summer, and in the Main House reception rooms, with open fires, in the colder months. Add-ons listed include an oyster and Champagne reception, espresso martinis and a Guinness station.
The wedding breakfast is served in the Ballroom, which then becomes the party space with a live band, a DJ or both. The bar is a few steps away, and overnight guests can continue in the residents' bar. A second-day barbecue can be held at the Pavilion Club.
Seminars and company events
The pages we reviewed do not describe meeting rooms or conference packages. Ask the hotel whether a company dinner or retreat can be arranged in the private dining rooms or the Ballroom.
Rooms and capacities
The site names the Ballroom, the private dining rooms in the Main House, Hunters Bar, the Tiffany Glam Room, the terrace and the Pavilion Club, but gives no capacity for any of them. Request guest numbers for your layout from the events team. The hotel also hosts private occasions such as birthdays, christenings, anniversaries and retirements in its private dining rooms.
Accommodation
Castle Durrow has 48 individually styled rooms across the main house and its courtyards. The site refers to Master, Heritage and Oriental rooms. The Main House keeps its original features and each bedroom is designed differently.
Catering
Head Chef Graham Gallagher has been part of the Castle Durrow kitchen for more than 15 years. The menus draw on seasonal Irish produce, and a kitchen garden in the walled garden supplies the hotel kitchen. Wedding menus are served as a seated wedding breakfast in the Ballroom.
History and setting
The house was built in 1716 as the home of the Flower family, later Viscounts Ashbrook. Peter and Shelly Stokes restored it, and their daughter Tessa and her husband Robin now run it. The estate has a rose garden with hundreds of David Austin roses, a walled garden with an orchard and a sunken garden, and the Pavilion Club, with padel courts, pizza and barbecue.
Getting there
Castle Durrow is in Durrow, County Laois, R32 EA02. The site mentions the Rock of Dunamase and Kilkenny City nearby. Contact the hotel on +353 (0)57 8736555 or at reservations@castledurrow.com.
