Glin Castle

Glin Castle has been in the FitzGerald family, hereditary Knights of Glin, for over 700 years. With superb interiors, decorative plasterwork and collections of Irish furniture and paintings, it stands on the bank of the River Shannon, surrounded by formal gardens and parkland.

Inside

Glin Castle is available to hire exclusively for family gatherings, events, weddings, golf tours and film locations. It is also the perfect venue for any number of corporate activities; from executive lunches and dinners, product launches, team building activity days and day conferences. Packages can be tailored to suit your needs.

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The castle was built with entertaining in mind. The entrance hall with a screen of Corinthian pillars has a superb Neo-classical plaster ceiling and the reception rooms are filled with a unique collection of Irish 18th-century mahogany furniture. Family portraits and Irish pictures line the walls, and the library bookcase has a secret door leading to the hall and the very rare flying staircase.

After a stroll in the wonderful pleasure grounds, the sitting room with a crackling wood fire makes an ideal cosy gathering place for drinks before dinner.

The dining room seats forty guests. Its walls are hung with imposing family portraits, lit by candles twinkling in tall silver candelabras. The romantic view from the bay window across the River Shannon’s estuary, to the hills of county Clare is breath-taking. Across the hall, the Drawing Room has an Adam period ceiling, a beautiful Bossi marble chimneypiece with open fire and six long windows which overlook the croquet lawn – the perfect setting for after dinner coffee and conversation.

There are two kitchens: a commercial kitchen which can cater for up to eighty people; and a family kitchen with Aga and Irish country furniture.

Bedrooms

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Upstairs there are 15+ en-suite bedrooms. Colourful rugs and chaise-longues stand at the end of comforting plump beds. Pictures and blue and white porcelain adorn the walls. The bedrooms at the back of the castle overlook the garden, while those at the front have a view of the river.

Dining

As a member of the prestigious Blue Book, the definitive gastronomic guide to eating and staying in Ireland, dining at Glin Castle will be a highlight of your stay. The professional catering kitchen can provide for up to 50 people. The talented chef and his team cook to the highest standards. Menus are carefully planned with herbs and vegetables organically grown in the castle’s own walled vegetable garden.

A second "family kitchen" is available for guests to use. This kitchen is filled with Irish country furniture and an Aga.

Food Philosophy

The food philosophy at Glin Castle is simple; tasty, seasonal and fresh local produce. In the 19th-century walled garden, espaliered fruit trees border the asparagus and artichoke beds. Any produce not grown on the grounds is sourced from the best local producers, including fish from Sealyons in Carrigaholt, a small fishing village in County Clare. Meat is sourced from the best local butchers and the award-winning farmhouse cheese is made by outstanding small local producer, Jim O’Brien.

Grounds and Gardens

Numerous generations of one family have added to the beauty of Glin Castle and its enchanting gardens.

On the banks of the Shannon estuary, some twenty miles in from the open sea, the bow fronted castle looks out to the rocky foreshore. On still and misty evenings, when the light falls long and low, the cry of the curlew and lapwing conjure up all the wonderful loneliness of Ireland’s west coast in winter.

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Walled Kitchen Garden

On the inland side, sheltered and facing south, is an entirely different world. Without heavy frosts and washed by the Gulf Stream, exotic plants thrive. Groves of gunnera, camellia and rhododendron flourish under the Killarney oaks and Monterey pine. A Persian ironwood tree crowns the formal parterre of clipped yew and, behind it, the meadowy hill lights up in spring with a thousand pale yellow daffodils.

In the 19th-century walled garden, espaliered fruit trees border the asparagus and artichoke beds. Two wooden Gothic temples: one deep in the spectacular herbaceous border; the other looking out east along the Shannon, afford quiet contemplation.

Activities

Explore Ireland's most beautiful sights along the Wild Atlantic Way including the Cliffs of Moher, the Dingle Peninsula, Bunratty Castle & the Ring of Kerry. Glin Castle offers the perfect location to discover South-west Ireland.

History

Home for 800 years of the FitzGerald family, hereditary Knights of Glin…and still the family home today.

Prices