Dining in Irish Castles

Article: Richard Carroll. Photography: Halina Kubalski.

A Forkful of Travel

The grassy smell of earth is steadfast while the swirling rhythms of Ireland are creating an ecstatic visual harmony, as a wash of air ruffles the trees. The sea, mutating from turquoise to deep blue, to hues of green, is etched and sliced by the wind with little streaks of warmth, as the sun beats a ceaseless tempo. The Irish landscape opens to mossy hillsides, thick woodlands, a canopy of leafy trees lining the roadway, lush fields with grazing horses’ tails twitching, and small fishing villages with small-town charm. Our memorable and narrow two-lane back road route is leaving the wall of traffic behind and leading us past the mysterious beauty of the ageless Norman and Anglo-Irish castles, endless and classic hand-made dry stone walls, a designated UNESCO World Heritage site designed by ancient master craftsman. The road continues past Georgian architecture, thatched cottages and huge, lavish country estates with immaculate gardens and fine dining.

Medieval round stone towers, built from the 9th to the 12th centuries for defensive purposes and habitation for wealthy families, protrude skyward in the lush landscape, and appear like lost ancient watchtowers in search of a home. Eight implausible national parks are scattered throughout the island, where delicate spider webs cast shadows against the bushes, while green mottled paths cut across the landscape made by animals who come for a drink during the darkness of night. A mist rises in luminous tendrils disclosing a feel of another time as a large bird launches from the weathered roof at St. Cronan’s Church of England in County Clare, dating to the 10th century.

Traveling the back roads, Ireland’s esteemed treasures of a vanished era are vividly brought back to life with Dublin-based, John Colclough, who has an astounding photographic memory, an intense love for his country, and can open doors to the ageless and mysterious splendor of Ireland’s castles. It’s estimated that some 10,000 castles and ruins are scattered throughout the landscape, with most dating from the 12th to the 16th centuries., while Killyleagh Castle in Northern Ireland, dating back to 1180. These castles were once homes to royalty, as well as centers of religion, fortification, and detention. However, comfort and ease of living was adrift in the massive, damp and musty, lime or sandstone rooms and during the numerous wars all was lost if the spiral staircase was destroyed. Suspending history in place, several castles and former castle sites have been ingeniously transformed into ultra-luxurious five-star hotels and restaurants, earning recognition as some of the best in Europe.

Ashford Castle

Ashford Castle, built in stages as far back as 1228 in French Chateau-style, is bordered by 350-acres of attractive gardens, fastidiously manicured grounds, and the serene Lough Corrib, the largest lake on the island. At first sight of the castle and its imposing limestone façade, imaginations take flight. One envisions the rumble of a grand, four-wheeled carriage drawn by two sturdy horses, guided by a proud coachman in a black top hat, with an eager young footman holding a lit taper, leading two elegantly dressed, veiled ladies to the entrance. The five-star Ashford, in the West of Ireland in County Mayo is listed in the Red Carnation collection, once the home of the Guinness family. It is unbridled Irish luxury with gleaming Waterford Crystal chandeliers, rooms with silk-lined walls, era antiques, and Egyptian linens.

The George V dining room with black tie service, dinner jackets for gentleman, denim and shorts inappropriate, is led by Executive Chef, Liam Finnegan, 41. He said, “I have a staff of 50 and a large organic kitchen garden with vegan and vegetarian offerings, straight from the garden to the table, and our organic salmon is the best you’ll find in Ireland. The classic Irish soda bread recipe is from my grandmother, and we make our own vinegar, jams and sauces using seeds from the garden.” Lunch was a balance of tastes with slices of organic chicken dressed with tangy butternut squash, a garden salad, and a Cured Organic Salmon with a dab of horseradish, cucumbers, honey and soy. Finnegan explained, “Ireland was offering organic cuisine long before organic was a catchphrase.”

Ballynahinch Castle Hotel

Built on the site of a 1384 former castle and though modified, Ballynahinch retains the architectural integrity of a castle and luxurious former Irish country estate. Found in the west of Ireland on the Wild Atlantic Way in Connemara County Galway, overlooking a salmon fishery, amidst 700 acres of woodlands, rivers and greenery, Ballynahinch, with 48 bedrooms and suites, is a rainbow mantle of attractions for the epicurean. Michelin-starred, and a luxury member of Relais & Châteaux, Executive Chef Danni Barry, 40, with a staff of 14, was “Chef of The Year in 2024”, and the Owenmore was awarded “Ireland’s Fine Dining Hotel Restaurant in 2024.” She said, “My dad was a farmer, and we all had to help out. I cooked in Belfast for 20 years, traveled Europe, and love the long-lasting organic Irish cuisine. Our garden and Green House are a great asset, as is fishing, a great part of Ireland’s cuisine. Reservations a week or more in advance for this exquisite dining experience with views of the rambling Ballynahinch river, floor to ceiling draped windows, candlelit tables, chandeliers dimmed creating subtle lighting, a harpist playing relaxing chords, while servers are offering classic refined service. Chef Dani has a large walled garden to source from, while her West Coast scallops are created with smoked black pudding, slices of pungent beets, apples and tangy cauliflower. Savory and layered with taste was a halibut baked in brown butter, dressed with pickled celeriac, in a roast bone sauce, and with fresh, organic walled garden greens.

Ballyfin

Ballyfin Demesne, luxurious and celebrated, quietly lures guests back to the early 18th century with its extravagant and historic large format art collection of people you would love to meet and who once roamed through the palace-like rooms with whispered secrets. Ballyfin is simply an Irish treasure, not technically a castle, but an elaborate castle-like estate. Every interior detail in this distinguished destination has a story to tell with ornate period furniture, damask fabrics, Chinese porcelain lamps, gleaming Empire mirrors, crystal chandeliers, inlaid timber flooring, including an original mosaic floor imported from Italy. Elegant Regency clocks where time has stood still, and who have a story to tell, along with opulent gold leaf candlestick holders that once lit the way for countless guests with their dancing flames. Hidden away in the library bookcase is a concealed door accessing entrance to an 1855 glass conservatory. The neo-classic building, 1826, has an abundance of old-world charm and warm Irish hospitality that engulf you like a heartfelt embrace, while guests can be greeted at the outer entrance with horse and carriage, as Head Butler and Coachman, Lionel Chadwick reins in two white horses who know the way and prance by entrance doors of solid Santo Domingo mahogany and marble pillars imported from Italy. Emerging on the horizon is Ballyfin’s intriguing backdrop, the immense Slieve Bloom Mountains in a blaze of artistic purple heather, attracting a gathering of fickle clouds.

Ballyfin, honored with five-stars as well as Michelin-starred, is located in the center of Ireland, on a 614-acre estate, which includes Executive Chef, Richard Picard-Edwards’ eight-acre walled produce garden that intensifies dining in the lavish Van Der Hagen dining room with a blazing chandelier, tables with crystal and silver, and to set a mood, light piano music in the background. Chef Picard-Edwards, offering a high level of culinary creativity, creates a menu focusing on the best of seasonal produce with savory sauces, an extensive, award-winning tasting menu and freshly caught cod dressed in a sprinkling of pine nuts and tasty garden mushrooms.

Ballyfin’s 20 distinctive bedrooms, fit for royalty, are each named and each with a personality, as well as a private one-bedroom Garden Cottage. The Westmeath has a dome canopied 18th century French carved bed positioned permanently in the center of the room, surrounded by richly patterned walls, and draped windows exposing a brilliant patch of green and Chadwick’s carriage with two-white horses passing by. A guest from Madrid said, “For all this elegance and history, Ballyfin is far from a hotel, it’s like being a guest in a private estate with not a drop of pretentiousness, which is nicely replaced with classic Irish hospitality.”

Birr Castle

Birr Castle, a 40-minute drive from Ballyfin along one-lane country roads lined with trees and the classic, low-lying hand-made walls, is an uplifting encounter with nature and Irish history, accompanied by songs of unseen birds and drifting clouds. Birr Castle, an historic landmark with a castle on the site since 1170, once the ancestral fortified home of the O’Carroll/Carroll Clan, who ruled the area from the 14th to 17th centuries and later the noted Parsons family, is surrounded by 120 acres of parklands, as the river Camcor weaves through a landscape past six miles of walking trails, a lake, and waterfall, rare trees, award-winning formal gardens, tall 300-year-old Box Hedges, the oldest wrought-iron suspension bridge in Ireland, circa 1820, a Science Center, and the Great Telescope that took six strong men to move into place, and for 70 years was the world’s largest reflecting telescope. When visiting the private home castle of the Earl and the elegant Countess Lady Rosse, a one-hour guided interior tour can be arranged with reservations from mid-May to August. One can experience one of the top five private libraries in Ireland, pointed gothic windows, and footsteps of history to ignite the imagination. The Birr’s Courtyard Café offers a menu selection of scones, various hot foods, a tasty soup of the day, and sandwiches, ideal for a casual lunch in an uppermost nature setting.

Dromoland Castle Hotel

The teeth of autumn cast long shadows on the magnificent castle, a raw wind with little streaks of warmth, igniting the imagination of people come and gone. The ancestral home of the O’Brien family since 1014 is set on 450 acres. Most of the five-star Gothic castle with 97 guestrooms and suites, hails from the early 1800s, and complete with a chapel, golfing academy, and 18-hole golf course. The stones bear the faint imprints of guests from throughout the ages, who have admired the resplendent Dromoland setting, where love affairs have wandered and drifted within the timeless castle. Although, one woman, possibly in her 50s with dark wavy hair who lived here in the 1800s has decided to make the castle her permanent home. She has been seen by various people on the second and third floors descending the staircase to the extravagant Earl of Thomond dining room wearing a dark blue satin gown. A server in the restaurant said, “Regardless, our attractive lady must have been the gourmet of her day, a connoisseur of fine cuisine for sure.” Executive Head Chef, David McCann, has been creating at the Earl of Thomond since 1995, was awarded Chef of The Year in 2018, and Dromoland honored as Best Hotel in Ireland in 2024. McCann, widely traveled, cooked in London and Dublin’s finest restaurants, said, “For me, it all began with my mother who loved to cook and bake too. The organic produce is all local suppliers, our herbs from the walled garden, we use

organic flour, and I believe Irish butter and dairy products are among the best in the world. I have a talented hand-picked staff, a strong relationship with the farmers, enjoy hosting the local school children, and I do know some of our guests which range from presidents and celebrities to neighbors. I have 22 tables in the Earl of Thomond, and realized years ago, a great thing about dining is that people socialize.”

Our dinner at the Earl of Thomond, Chef McCann recommended most of the menu, but we selected a nicely presented Shellfish Bisque created with a touch of brandy, ginger and a bittersweet tarragon with suggestions of citrus and licorice. A flaky, puff pastry, Wild Mushroom Pithivier, enclosed with creamy mashed potatoes, truffles and chives, was a winner. We shared a Traditional Caesar Salad, which was a dedication to quality with garden baby romaine, a sprinkle of croutons, Parmesan cheese, and dressed with the chef’s Dromoland sauce. McCann’s rich culinary history was forefront in the savory Burren Smokehouse Salmon Platter, enjoyed with bits of dried onions, baby capers, a splash of lemon, and the classic brown Irish soda bread. A Custard Tart settled the evening, designed with Chantilly cream, plum and blackberry compote. With only a minimum of imagination, we could picture the attractive lady in the satin gown dining under one of the sparkling chandeliers, champagne glass tipped.

Lismore Castle Gardens and Gallery

Led by John Colclough along ancient postal roads, a thin layer of fog covering a green forest, we arrive at the massive Lismore Castle’s fortified entrance, the setting pulling us back in time with visions of horses and carriages and a 17th century guard at the gate with a musket and long curved sword. The thick-walled castle, with turrets and towers, dates to 1185, was built by King John on the site of a seventh-century Lismore Abbey monastery, overlooking the Blackwater River to order to guard river crossings. It has endured wars and week-long sieges. The Gothic Revival castle in Waterford County, near

Lismore town, is the private home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire and their family. Entry involves access to a contemporary art gallery with changing exhibits, and one of Ireland’s historic, romantic and wistful gardens. The tiered gardens were designed on seven acres, protected by 17th century defensive walls, and noted as the oldest continually cultivated gardens in Ireland.

Castle Keep For Family and Friends

Lismore can be booked for weddings and celebrations, complete with the family’s private staff including a butler, and dining with a head chef blessed with culinary skills who presents breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and dinner. Lismore is offering 15 bedrooms without door locks and television for 27 guests, and a medieval ambience for life-long memories.