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Bunratty
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Bunratty Castle and Folk Park

Bunratty Castle and Folk Park: Hours, Address, Bunratty Castle and Folk Park Reviews: 4.5/5

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Bunratty Castle and Folk Park

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Bunratty Castle and Folk Park
4.5
4,420
#2 of 7 things to do in Bunratty
Castles
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9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
About
Bunratty Castle & Folk Park is a must on your itinerary to Ireland. This is your chance to experience a window on Ireland’s past and explore the acclaimed 15th century Bunratty Castle and the 19th century Bunratty Folk Park. Bunratty Castle Welcome to Bunratty Castle, the most complete and authentic medieval castle in Ireland. Built in 1425 it was restored in 1954 to its former medieval splendor and now contains mainly 15th and 16th century furnishings, tapestries, and works of art which capture the mood of those times. Bunratty Folk Park Enjoy the sights, sounds tastes, scents, of this enchanting place as you stroll from house to house or around the charming village street complete with school, post office, doctors house, hardware shop, printers and of course McNamara’s pub! meet the village characters, sample some freshly baked bread by our resident Bean an Ti's (woman of the house) and for little visitors explore of quaint fairy village and pirate adventure playground
Suggested duration
2-3 hours
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Admission tickets
from $17.97
All you need to step foot in the door.
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Top ways to experience Bunratty Castle and Folk Park
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The area
Best nearby
Restaurants
26 within 3 miles
Bunratty Medieval Feast
488
28 ft$$ - $$$ • Quick Bites • Irish • Vegetarian Friendly
Gallagher's of Bunratty
600
0.2 mi$$ - $$$ • Irish • Seafood • European
Noel's at The Manor
191
0.3 mi$$ - $$$ • Irish • European • Vegetarian Friendly
Traditional Irish Night-Cornbarn at Bunratty Folk Park
128
0.2 mi$$ - $$$ • Irish • Vegetarian Friendly • Vegan Options
Durty Nelly's
2,351
120 ft$$ - $$$ • Irish • Bar • Pub
JP Clarke's Country Pub
782
0.2 mi$$ - $$$ • Irish • Bar • European
The Creamery Bar and Restaurant
945
325 ft$$ - $$$ • Irish • Bar • European
MacNamara and Sons
50
48 ft$$ - $$$ • Irish • Bar • Pub
Kathleens Bar
4
0.1 miIrish
Mr. O'REGAN'S
4
0.3 mi$$ - $$$
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Attractions
16 within 6 miles
Shannon Heritage
190
0.2 miPoints of Interest & Landmarks
Bunratty Winery
24
0.5 miWineries & Vineyards • Breweries
Mooghaun Hill Fort
12
0.6 miAncient Ruins
Atlantic Air Adventures
109
2.7 miSpeciality Museums
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37
2.1 miPoints of Interest & Landmarks
Cratloe Woods
32
Parks
Sean Lemass Public Library
10
3 miLibraries
Shannon Swimming & Leisure Centre
17
2.8 miSports Complexes
Cratloe Woods House
2
Historic Sites • Architectural Buildings
RathlahineTrout Angling
1
Bodies of Water
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
4,421 reviews
Excellent
2,683
Very good
1,244
Average
328
Poor
99
Terrible
68
skigrl985
Denver, CO91 contributions
Must do when in Limerick
Sep 2019
There are different aspects of visiting Bunratty castle. Entrance will get you into both the castle and the Folk park.
Castle- tour the castle, up and down stairwells that will take you to different rooms that have been set with displays. Very interesting, and there is occasionally some info marked throughout the castle.
Folk Park- this is a really cool village that has been built to represent real villages. Each house has a different purpose (a regular home, a school, a tea shop, etc.) and many of them have actors inside. This village is really fun, don't skip it.
Castle Dinner- You can stay after the castle closes with a separate ticket for a dinner experience. Begin in the main hall with a cup of honey wine (forget the exact name) and musical entertainment as everyone gathers. The host of this whole night is funny, charming, and very interactive. Then you are led to the dining hall and seated at a long table with others. There are a few courses served throughout the night as the singers sing traditional songs and the host conducts a fun interactive night.
Written February 21, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
eimferm
Fermanagh5 contributions
Great family day out with a lovely picnic
Jul 2020 • Family
We visited Bunratty as a family group, 4 adults 3 children + 1 baby, it was a fantastic day out, every effort has been made for social distancing to be implemented and there are sanitising stations throughout. There's something for all the family and really is worth a visit. I would also highly recommend pre-ordering the picnic from Mr. O'Regan's cafe, it was delicious, all the food was fresh and presentation was fab.
Written July 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Claire21_13
Newry, UK18 contributions
Competition winner
Aug 2020 • Family
We won 2 nights B&B at the Radisson Blu Hotel and Spa in Limerick through Bunratty Castle and Folk Park and we had a great time. The visit to Bunratty Castle and Folk Park was fantastic and the weather was excellent which made the trip even more enjoyable. Good measures in place with regard to COVID-19 to keep people safe and prebooking is essential. Staff friendly and helpful. Great picnic facilities also.
Written August 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Travel30WAW
Sligo, Ireland39 contributions
Disappointed
Sep 2021
I was really looking forward to this because I love castles but Im disappointed. There was a one way system in place in the castle due to covid, which is completely fine, but you actually didn't see many rooms at all. There was the banquet hall you walked through but most other rooms were sealed with barriers so you could not really look around and explore, unlike many other castles in the country. We went through it very quickly maybe 10-15 minutes so it was slightly disappointing.
Also we paid 28,50 euro for one adult & one student, which doesn't match the prices on the website at all...

The folk park is nicely made. There are a lot of old school looking houses and shops, it is a lovely area to stroll around. This I really enjoyed.

However, I did not like how the Irish Wolfhounds were held in a filed enclosure, while this was a big area and I know they need a lot of space, I think a field is for livestock not dogs. Especially, since the sign at the gate states that they love human interactions/companionship. Even if they were working dogs I dont think this is a nice circumstance to keep them in. Our working sheep dog is not held in a field. While they did not look neglected, they seemed depressed and sad and I honestly felt bad for them.
Written September 25, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
niamh
Roscommon, Ireland1 contribution
Rude staff, closed before closing times stated on signs and websites
Aug 2020
We have read about bunratty castle many times in history books in school, so we were excited to finally visit as a stop on the way home. We were very disappointed with the reception we received. We booked our tickets online which gave us the time slot of 2-5:30, which was our understanding we could turn up at any time during that slot, anthing to say otherwise was not stated anywhere on the website. We arrived before 4 oclock on our way home, with over an hour and a half to spend here. We were greeted by a rude lady who told us "you better hurry up to the castle". This confused us greatly as the place does not close until 5:30. On the way to the castle we met another man, who wasn't even in unifrom and told us to hurry up also before he locked up. We were beyond confused and felt very rushed. Once we reached the castle we met two workers dressed up who didn't even offer any historical information about the castle and just told us to go into the room.
We were very disappointed by the castle. We only saw five rooms which were very bare, no information provided about the castle in the rooms and the short guide we were given contained very little information.
Once outside the catsle, we enjoyed seeing three little cottages. we then wanted to get some food, but the Tea room was all locked up at quater past four when there was a sign outside the door clearly stating it didn't close until 5:30. There were still a lot of people walking around at 4 oclock but everything was closing, gates pulled across so we couldnt access half of the folk park with an hour and a half until closing. We were very disappointed to pay over 30 euro and didn't even get to see the majority of things available well before closing time. While I understand times are very different nowadays with CO-VID, there was no signs or information provided for the attractions we could not see. We left just over half an hour after we arrived.
Written August 29, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
D. McGrath
Mooncoin, Ireland6 contributions
Too many negatives to mention them all.
Aug 2020 • Family
I have visited Bunratty Folk Park many times in recent years and have always enjoyed it thoroughly. However after a trip over the weekend, I’m afraid I shall not be returning.

Firstly, the Covid one way system in place is appalling and counterintuitive. Corralling large numbers of visitors along a one way system, makes social distancing impossible. People were on top of one another in bottlenecks at various points along the trail.

Also, my exhausted toddler was verbally abused by a barmaid at Mac’s Bar (there were no other shops open due to Covid in the park) sitting quietly on a chair indoors as I queued for refreshments for our party of 6. Appalling behaviour towards a small child. Needless to say we left and will never return. Disgraceful!!!
Written August 18, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
VandP
37 contributions
Great day out
Jun 2021 • Couples
Loved our day out at Bunratty castle. We went early in the morning so there wasn't too many people around. The staff are so helpful and friendly. We got to have a pint and 7up sat outside the bar in the park which was lovely on a hot day. Absolutely beautiful place. Great day out for children, they would love the animals and playground. The castle itself is beautiful building. Such a lovely place to walk around. You get to see inside the old buildings, it's just great.
Written June 7, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
RenR_Ontario
Ontario, canada99 contributions
Visit for a couple hours in January
Jan 2020
The castle was the first we have seen on our visit to Ireland ... it was very interesting to see the small winding staircases and then large rooms they would open into. The village was totally closed when we went and the Bunratty house was also closed which was disappointing as they still charged us full price for admission but nothing was happening ... we were left to explore on our own. The petting zoo also wasn't available. Disappointed to pay the price we did and drive 1.5 hours to find out once we were in that this is there slow time and that we could not explore the whole park. More information or things to read on the castle rooms would have been great since there was nobody around to ask questions. The whole place took us 1.5 hours to explore. Disappointing again when we drove 1.5 hours based on the website information that did not disclose that half the things would not be available to see.
Written January 13, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Cool_Madra
13 contributions
A bit more effort to bring customers in.
Jul 2020
A little bit disappointed to be honest, the castle was great but the folk park was a let down. Nobody at home in any of the cottages or town houses, the pet farm had one sheep and lamb and two rabbits, no blacksmith in his forge.

To have staff in each open house would have spoke volumes about the individual houses as one would have got a better idea how people lived back then, the walkways were dismal and could have done with some sprucing up, fresh gravel and paint on the picnic tables and fences, exit signs would have been a great help too, the fairy garden hadn't seen paint for some time.

We are encouraged to staycate and spend our money at home but you have got to provide value for money too.
Written July 29, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Olivia O
2 contributions
Very disappointing visit
Jul 2020 • Family
Just back from a family break in limerick with my two children aged 9 & 15. Let me start by saying I have never written a review before but have always taken advantage of other people options on hotels & days out which has always guided me in the past with good advice. I felt it important to write a review on our visit to bunratty folk park as it might help other family's planning on a day out. I have been to the park before & had a wonderful day it was one of the reasons we decided to return to limerick to experience it again & have a garenteened great day. Unfortunately we had a terrible experience when we visited again. Keeping it brief & understanding that we are visiting durning "covid days" as my daughter calls it, it was like a ghost town. Barely any staff, none of the street shops open, large queues outside all of the houses to visit with only half opened to the public & a pet farm with two goats & two rabbits. We were going to stop for a cup of tea to brighten up the boring walk even though we had only eaten a half hour before but the 5.50 for a slice of apple tart just made me furious as I felt we had already been ripped off with an entry fee to a disappointing experience so far. I really don't like to complain but they should really let people know what there getting durning these times or reduce the price considerably. Please don't waste your presious time & money visiting bunratty. A very disappointed customer
Written August 1, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Bunratty Castle and Folk Park
Bunratty Castle and Folk Park is open:
  • Sun - Sat 9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Buy tickets in advance on Tripadvisor. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel at least 24 hours before the start date of your tour for a full refund.
Bunratty Castle and Folk Park admission prices can vary. Entrance tickets currently cost $18.00, while a popular guided tour starts around $37.16 per person. See all 38 Bunratty Castle and Folk Park tickets and tours on Tripadvisor
Bunratty Castle and Folk Park can be crowded, so we recommend booking e-tickets ahead of time to secure your spot. If you book with Tripadvisor, you can cancel at least 24 hours before the start date of your tour for a full refund. See all 38 Bunratty Castle and Folk Park tickets and tours on Tripadvisor