There are many ways to visit an Irish castle. You can walk through its historic rooms, explore the grounds or even stay overnight in one converted into a hotel. At Bunratty Castle, there is another option: spend an evening as a guest at a medieval court.
The Medieval Banquet has been held at Bunratty since 1963, making the experience itself a long-established part of Irish tourism. The setting goes much further back: the present Bunratty Castle was built in the 15th century.
A Proper Courtly Evening Begins with Mead
The experience starts upstairs, where guests gather in the Great Hall before dinner. Costumed hosts welcome visitors, asking where they have travelled from and whether they have attended the banquet before.
The crowd is distinctly international, with visitors arriving from different parts of the world. On our visit, it was also noticeable that quite a few guests were returning to the banquet rather than experiencing it for the first time.
As everyone settles in, there is time to look around the Great Hall and take in the castle interior. The hosts introduce the evening with some historical context, while traditional music sets the scene.
This is also when guests are offered Bunratty mead, a honey-based drink served as part of the welcome ceremony.
By this point, you are no longer simply a 21st-century visitor. For the evening, you become “My Lady” or “My Lord” — and that is how the costumed hosts address their guests as the medieval court begins to take shape around them.
The Medieval Feast Begins
After the reception, guests are invited downstairs into the Banquet Hall, where long wooden tables are laid with pottery, bread and candles. Guests take their places as the hall fills with conversation and the evening moves from the welcome ceremony to the feast itself.
In the warm light of the hall, surrounded by stone walls and medieval furnishings, the atmosphere is relaxed and festive. Jugs of red and white wine are placed along the tables and replenished throughout the evening as the food arrives course by course.
The current menu remains remarkably close to the one served during our visit. The meal begins with spiced parsnip soup, followed by spare ribs with honey and whiskey sauce. The main course is chicken breast with apple and mead sauce, served with potatoes and seasonal vegetables, followed by a fruit-of-the-forest mousse known as Rastin.
But what makes the meal memorable is not only what is served, but how some of it is eaten.
Do not expect a conventional restaurant place setting with a full collection of cutlery. Some of the banquet is deliberately eaten in a more medieval-inspired fashion. The ribs, most memorably, are eaten with your fingers, with used bones placed into a bowl on the table. Full immersion in the 15th century. Water and napkins are provided for cleaning your hands, though — the guests themselves are still from the 21st.
With wine being passed along the table, candles lighting the hall and a performance unfolding around you, it becomes surprisingly easy to forget that this began as a visit to a historic attraction.
What’s a Medieval Banquet Without a Little Entertainment?
The feast unfolds alongside the performance, with music, singing and storytelling continuing as each course arrives. Costumed performers play traditional instruments, including harp and fiddle, while the host keeps the evening moving with stories, humour and plenty of interaction with the hall.
And the guests do not remain spectators for long. As the evening progresses, some are drawn directly into the story: an Earl and Lady are chosen from among the company, while another, rather less fortunate member of the court may find themselves sent to the castle dungeon and faced with the task of earning a pardon.
It is this invitation to play along that makes the experience work. The banquet is not a strict historical reconstruction, but it does not need to be. For a few hours, Bunratty gives you the feeling of having travelled not only to another place, but to another time.
Planning a Visit to Bunratty Medieval Banquet
Bunratty Castle Medieval Banquet takes place at Bunratty Castle in County Clare, close to Shannon and Limerick.
The experience currently runs throughout the year, with two evening sittings offered on operating dates. The complete experience lasts approximately two and a half hours, and advance reservations are recommended.
Vegetarian meals can be arranged when requested at the time of booking. Because schedules, availability and ticket prices can change, it is worth checking the current calendar directly with Bunratty before travelling.
Bunratty Medieval Banquet — official programme and booking
For anyone who has already visited several Irish castles and is looking for something beyond another tour of historic rooms, the banquet offers a very different way to experience one.
You still leave in the 21st century. But somewhere between eating ribs with your fingers by candlelight and watching someone across the hall being sent to the dungeon, Bunratty makes a fairly convincing case for playing along.
