Bunratty Castle
Bunratty Castle, County Clare, Republic of Ireland
Bunratty Castle, in Irish meaning "Castle at the Mouth of the Ratty" is a large 15th-century tower house.
The earliest fortress at Bunratty (1251) was a “Bretesche” or wooden tower erected on a moat. This was followed in turn by De Clare's stone castle (1277) and De Rokeby's Castle (1353).
The present O'Brien Castle, built 1425, has gone through many alterations during 4 centuries of occupation but in the restoration works all decorations later than 1619 (the date of the decorated ceilings in the chapel) were removed and the 15th century crenellations were restored.
Travel comment: I was very happy for Sharon that we visited this castle. She loves castles and although we had already visited a few in our travels, this was the first time we didn't see one in ruins, or one which inside hadn't been decorated in a 'more modern-day' style – i.e. to the 18th century or later. This castle has furniture, tapestries and works of art dating to around 1600 – so we got to get a sense of what it would have looked like centuries ago, in its heyday.
Very, very, very cool.
Bunratty Castle, in Irish meaning "Castle at the Mouth of the Ratty" is a large 15th-century tower house.
The earliest fortress at Bunratty (1251) was a “Bretesche” or wooden tower erected on a moat. This was followed in turn by De Clare's stone castle (1277) and De Rokeby's Castle (1353).
The present O'Brien Castle, built 1425, has gone through many alterations during 4 centuries of occupation but in the restoration works all decorations later than 1619 (the date of the decorated ceilings in the chapel) were removed and the 15th century crenellations were restored.
Travel comment: I was very happy for Sharon that we visited this castle. She loves castles and although we had already visited a few in our travels, this was the first time we didn't see one in ruins, or one which inside hadn't been decorated in a 'more modern-day' style – i.e. to the 18th century or later. This castle has furniture, tapestries and works of art dating to around 1600 – so we got to get a sense of what it would have looked like centuries ago, in its heyday.
Very, very, very cool.
Travel memory: The morning of our second week was a day when we were not leaving our hotel until mid morning - so we were able to visit Bunratty Castle. This was wonderful but, of course, that also meant we had to be very, very careful about the time.
I was extremely strict with Sharon on this point and kept us going at a quick clip. Alas! I checked my watch – attached to the outside of my purse – and the clock face was upside down. As such, I read the time as being a quarter past the hour, rather than a quarter to the hour. Dear, oh dear, I hustled Sharon along much faster than what was necessary and, of course, we arrived back at our hotel a half hour earlier than required. Oh well. I guess better than being a half hour late. Sharon won't let me forget this - and nor should she with all the teasing I did of her and her camera woes! :) :D |