Hi-
I have been hearing about the Bunratty Midevil Banquet. Anyone been? Recommended? Thanks in advance.
Dawn

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34414654

Here's a recent thread which is pretty enthusiastic re the banquet. To find more like it, type "bunratty AND baquet" into the text box at the top of this page.

Both Bunratty and Knapogue Castle(sp?) have these banquets.
We visited both places, but did not attend the banquets. I must say that we were very much impressed by Knapoque. It is in a beautiful setting. Also, someone working in the gift shop at Bunratty, told us this banquet was much better then the one at Bunratty. I was surprised she would tell us that.
So, you might want to check both of them out.

IMO Bunratty is just so-so. It was very, crowded when we were there. Actually packed. The intertainment and food was ok.

My folks & brother and I were ther in April and had a grand time.

Very entertaining and the food was really very good ( the ribs were fabulous).

It is almost always a sell out, so not a lot of elbow room, but good entertainment - we all said we would go back.

FYI - because it is booked up so much - you usually need to make advance reservations.
If you are not into the whole Medieval thing, Bunratty also has a "Cielli" which is more of a traditional Irish night.
Go to www.shannonheritage.com and click on Evening Entertainment. Under Bunratty you will find the Medieval banquet, and the Cielli is under the Traditional Irish Night link.
Both give good descriptions, as well as the usual menu.

If we had to do it over again, we would skip the banquet. It was very crowded and although the entertainment was okay, it didn't make up for the pricey meal. I would check out some other Celtic entertainment possibilities.

I attended the traditional Irish night held in the corn barn at Bunratty. I was quite a fun evening with local entertainment, step dancing, fiddle playing, stories, jokes and lovely Irish tunes. The food was simple, but adequate. you are paying much more for the entertainment than the food. The wine was plentiful and the atmosphere was very quaint.

I've been to two of the three banquets in that area, Bunratty and Dunguaire. I have not yet been to Knappogue. The performers at both banquets were very good, the Bunratty one is more musical, the Dunguaire banquet has a literary theme, but provides a lot of music. The music is not irish "trad" but usually includes some standard ballads that will keep your toes tapping.

The food at Dunguaire was far superior to the food at Bunratty and yes, the Bunratty one is always packed. The other two depend on attendance and they will only offer them if they are almost full.

In the end, I thought they were touristy, but a lot of fun. I thought the atmosphere was nicer at Dunguaire and it is much smaller ... more intimate. I prefered it. If you are trying to travel on a tight budget, you can get better food elsewhere and can find good entertainment too, but it won't be in a castle. If you have the budget, I say go and be light hearted about it. Have fun, which is all they are trying to provide.

Bill