Dromquinna Manor hosts weddings and private celebrations for 80 to 180 guests on a 40-acre waterfront estate near Kenmare, in County Kerry. Dinner is served in the Oak Room, and the manor adds a piano lounge, drawing rooms, a terrace and a pavilion for ceremonies.
Seminars and company events
The official site says the manor hosts private events and celebrations in the manner of a private house party, using the Piano Lounge, the Oak Paneled Dining Room and the Drawing Rooms. It does not list meeting rooms, equipment or seminar capacities, so the estate suits a company celebration or dinner rather than a working seminar.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings are the main event offer. The ceremony can take place at the I-Do Pavilion, a short walk from the manor, or on the lawns with the Atlantic behind. Several small churches near Kenmare are within a short distance for religious ceremonies. Guests then enter the manor through its mosaic-tiled portico into the drawing rooms, which have a baby grand piano, open fires and sea views. A band plays on the terrace, where a bar serves drinks and the kitchen passes homemade canapés.
Dinner takes place in the Oak Room, which serves between 80 and 180 guests. The venue explains that it avoids printed table plans and instead tells guests personally where to sit. After dinner the room is turned into a party space where the band plays late. The site describes the result as an intimate, private wedding party.
Rooms and capacities
The Oak Room is the main dining and party space for 80 to 180 guests. The Piano Lounge, the Oak Paneled Dining Room and the Drawing Rooms are used for receptions and house-party style gatherings, and the terrace has its own bar. Capacities for these rooms are not published. The estate also has a Victorian glasshouse, gardens, the Boathouse Bistro on the water and the Shutters LoungeBar.
Accommodation
The estate has a collection of estate houses and rooms spread across the grounds, and the site lists several named lodgings, including the Courtyard Mews, the Bolthole, Blackberry Lodge, the Potting Sheds, the Hideaway and the Boathouse. A camping offer is also listed. The number of bedrooms is not stated on the pages read, so confirm availability and total beds before planning a wedding weekend.
Catering
The kitchen cooks in-house, and the venue states that most food is sourced within 20 miles, with herbs, vegetables and edible flowers grown on site from the market garden. For weddings, guests order at the table and the kitchen cooks each table's meal to order rather than reheating food prepared earlier. The venue also asks for no speeches between the soup and the main course, so that the beef is not overcooked. Wedding menus can be requested from the venue.
History and setting
The manor was designed by the architect J.F. Fuller and stands at the end of a winding avenue that passes a wildflower project and a duck pond. The estate is bounded by mature trees, lawns, shrubs and the Atlantic, and has hydrangeas, magnolias and azaleas through the seasons. It belongs to Ireland's Blue Book.
Getting there
Dromquinna Manor is on the shore near Kenmare, on the Wild Atlantic Way in County Kerry. Wedding enquiries are made through the form on the official wedding page.
