It's rug-cutting time. Have booked everything for three weeks in Ireland. Will be arriving for our last evening in Ireland to Bunratty at about 4 pm. Which of these three (if any) should I book (if I can do so):

Bunratty Castle Banquet
Bunratty Ceili
Kathleen's Famous Irish Nights


Or would you just make a restaurant reservation (which one?) and hit Durty Nelli's later in the evening?

Our plane leaves Shannon the next day at 2:00. I figure we can hit the Folk Park before leaving for the airport around 11:30, but am unclear about the opening times.

Decisions, decisions.

Any words of wisdom for these final hours are greatly appreciated!

We did the Folk Park, had a great pub lunch at the pub inside the park (along with a couple of pints), toured the castle, had a couple of pints at Durty Nelli's before the banquet, attended the Banquet, had a pint after the banquet, all in that order the day before flying out of Shannon. The Guinness is wonderful.

That should give you the day of your flight to get a good night's sleep, have a big Irish breakfast, get to the airport, turn in your rental car, check in at the airlines, check your bags, and do all your duty free shopping. They have a great duty free shop at the Shannon Airport, and you can get your last great pint of Guinness before flying out.

Enjoy!!

My husband was very pleased with this response. Says, "Tell him he's a tourist with his priorities straight."

Now just tell him how you got the little beer insigna so he can use it at work!!

Any other viewpoints?

My daughter and I are going to Ireland
next week and will be at Bunratt'y castle the 1st night. What is Bunratty Ceili and Kathleens Famous Irish Nights?
Also how is the wine in Ireland ( I am not a beer drinker but my daughter likes it)
Natalie

(B)

natjgc, the wine is very good -- mostly from France. Also, if your daughter doesn't like Guinness, there is a wonderful lager beer called Smithwich, pronounced Smith-itch.

Amelia, your husband is a wise man. My wife doesn't drink wine or beer, but she is very tolerant. She found a taste for Smirnoff Ice when she was over there, before they imported it to the States.

Here's a link to the Fodors Smileys for your husband.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/smileys/

Oh Budman, answering our prayers in more ways than one.

I don't drink Guinness. Can't help it. But I am a beer drinker. Like Victory Hop Devil, Anderson Valley IPA. So having the name of an alternative beer is a treasure. Am writing it down next to my pub notes.

Amelia is thinking abaout doing the Folk Park in the morning before a 2pm flight out of Shannon. Is that enough time? I was actually thinking the same thing, I'll be there next month and staying right in Bunratty and have a two pm flight. I don't want to cut it too close but would like to do somehting that morning - any other suggestions?

Thanks for getting the discussion away from beer and back to the basics, Isabel. I did some more internet research, hoping to find opening times and prices (amazingly absent from around 60 descriptions of the Folk Park!). Here's what I just found:

June to August Opening Times: 9 am to 6 pm

Last Admission Time to Castle: 4 pm
Last Admission Time to Folk Park: 4:45

Saw one other place that says Folk Park is Open to 6:30, but I think we get the drift.

Here's the menu for the Medieaeval Banquet:

Parsnip Soup
Spare Ribs
Chicken Breast w/ Apple and Mead Sauce
Potatoes/Seasonal Veggies
Traditional Rastin with a Blackberry Mousse and Fruit of the Forest

First Seating--5:30 pm
Second Seating--8:45 pm

$44 for adults; $33 Children Under 12

The Bunratty Folk Park Ceili is held in the Bunratty Barn. Menu: Salad, Irish Stew, Barm Brack (current bread) and Apple Pie. Storytelling, dancing and singing. Times: 5:30 and 8:45. Adults $37; Children under 12 $28

I'm starting to track down Kathleen's Irish Nights (held in Bunratty Castle Hotel restaurant) and will let you know what I dig up). Those of you who reserved ahead of time--how did you do it?

I know many posters have weighed in on the banquet -- general consensus "touristy but totally fun, so go with it"--but I don't know if I can stomach meade.

Again, hoping for other opinions.

While waiting for that, has anyone stayed at the Bunratty Manor? We couldn't get in Castle Hotel, so I'm hoping this place will be OK.

We did the banquet in April and had a grand time. It was a great relaxing, entertaining way to spend our last night.
As we did the early seating, we had time afterward to stop in at Mac's pub on the grounds for a beverage or 2

We booked ahead - go to the email link on the ShannonHeritage.com site.
Both the banquet and Ceili are very popular, and they do recommned pre-booking. They took our CC # to hold the reservation, but we had to actually pay for them that night.

Debbie

At the Bunratty Castle Banquet, they serve Mead before dinner, and during dinner, pitchers of wine.

Why would one want to change the discussion away from beer. I thought that was the main reason for going to Ireland.

Second the above comments. Go with the evening banquet great fun. The early sitting is best as you will have time to have a few pints of the black stuff either in the park or at Durty Nellies.

Sorry to get back to the beer thing, but I think it's Smithwicks (with a ck) and is pronounced Smith-icks, usless you are Irish and then it is Smit-icks. They have a but of a problem with the th. Remember LPs. In Ireland they played at turdy-tree-and-a-turd RPMs.

Bill

That's funny. You know, no matter which way I promnounced it, the bartender knew what I wanted.

Amelia,
I didn't drink Guiness either...until I drank a Guiness in Ireland. A finer beer you will not have over there, tastes nothing like it tastes in US!
Have a wonderful trip!! (B)

Now, why does my shamrock appear but not my beer?

I loved Kathleen's Irish night. I thought the meal was good but the dancing and singing were wonderful. We had a great time there.

Could someone tell me what "mead" is?
natjgc

On www.dictionary.com:

mead

\Mead\, n. [OE. mede, AS. meodo; akin to D. mede, G. met, meth, OHG. metu, mitu, Icel. mj["o]?r, Dan. mi["o]d, Sw. mj["o]d, Russ. med', Lith. midus, W. medd, Gr. ? wine, Skr. madhu honey, a sweet drink, as adj., sweet. ?. Cf. Metheglin.] 1. A fermented drink made of water and honey with malt, yeast, etc.; metheglin; hydromel. --Chaucer.

2. A drink composed of sirup (acceptable variant of syrup) of sarsaparilla or other flavoring extract, and water. It is sometimes charged with carbonic acid gas. [U. S.]

Sharon G-- How did you make your reservations for Kathleen's Irish Nights? Can you recall the menu, and also, can you recall the cost?

Or is this not a set menu?