Ghan House hosts weddings and private celebrations for up to 54 seated guests, with exclusive use of the whole house and gardens when a group needs music, dancing or evening guests. The house is a Georgian building from 1727 on the edge of medieval Carlingford, County Louth, Ireland, with 11 bedrooms on site.
Weddings and receptions
Two formats are offered. For intimate weddings of up to 30 guests without music or dancing, a private dining room can be booked while the restaurant keeps running in other rooms. For more than 30 guests, or when a band, a DJ, a civil ceremony or evening guests are planned, the house asks for exclusive use. Exclusive use means the whole house and gardens belong to the wedding party, with a free choice of arrival and dinner times, the bridal suite included and a reduction on the other bedrooms. The house does not take lunch bookings on the wedding day.
Civil ceremonies can be held in front of the open fire for up to 50 guests, or in the adjacent Heritage Centre when more guests attend. Drinks are served on the lawns or by a log fire. The same kitchen that runs the restaurant cooks the wedding meal, and couples may bring their own wine and pay corkage only on bottles opened. The house has a back-up generator.
Rooms and capacities
The Drawing Room seats 34 guests at one long table, 46 on six ovals or up to 54 banquet style. The Ballroom seats 24 at one long table or four ovals, or up to 40 banquet style, and has a maple dance floor. The ground floor dining room takes 5 to 18 guests, or up to 32 banquet style. Every private dining room has a log fire and a mountain view, and the Drawing Room has a sound system controlled from a phone.
Accommodation
The house has 11 bedrooms rated four stars by the AA, in the main house and in garden rooms built in 1999. Family rooms with king, queen and bunk beds are available. Guests of an exclusive use wedding receive a reduced bedroom rate.
Catering
The restaurant holds two AA Rosettes and has run since 1998. Wedding menus follow its style: three-course dinners or a buffet, with service, flowers, candles and clearing up handled by the house. The couple brings place cards and guests. Vegetarian and other needs are agreed with the kitchen.
History and setting
The house dates from 1727 and was built by William Stannus. The drawing room was added around 1747. The current family bought the house in 1991, saved it from near dereliction and opened it as a hotel and restaurant. It stands in three acres of walled gardens with views of Slieve Foy, Carlingford Lough and the Mourne Mountains.
Getting there
Ghan House is on Old Quay Lane in Carlingford. The hotel states that it is one hour from both Dublin and Belfast airports.
