Bunratty (, meaning "mouth of the Raite") is a village in

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, near Bunratty Castle. It is connected by the N18 road to

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

and

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

. The Raite river defines the parish's eastern boundary and flows into the

Shannon Estuary The Shannon Estuary in Ireland () is a large estuary where the River Shannon flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The estuary has Limerick City at its head and its seaward limits are marked by Loop Head to the north and Kerry Head to the south. Th ...

, which defines the southern boundary.

History

The first settlement in Bunratty may have been set up by

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

in the 10th century. The

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' () or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' () are chronicles of Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Genesis flood narrative, Deluge, dated as 2,242 Anno Mundi, years after crea ...

report that

Brian Boru Brian Boru (; modern ; 23 April 1014) was the High King of Ireland from 1002 to 1014. He ended the domination of the High King of Ireland, High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill, and is likely responsible for ending Vikings, Viking invasio ...

destroyed a Viking settlement in the area in 977. Bunratty Parish 1842

Around 1250 the Anglo-Norman ruler Mucegros was given the right to hold a market and fair at Bunratty. He built the castle in 1277. The castle became the main residence of Richard de Clare, owner of all of Thomond. In the late 13th century, Bunratty had about 1,000 inhabitants. Richard de Clare was killed in 1311, and in 1314 the town of Bunratty was burned to the ground by the local people. The castle was sacked in 1332. The current Bunratty Castle was built by the MacNamara family in the early part of the 15th century. It later became property of the O'Briens, who eventually made it their principal seat as Earls of Thomond. In the early 18th century it came into the possession of the Studdert family, who built Bunratty House in 1804. In 1834 Bunratty parish had 55 Protestants and 1,340 Catholics. As of 1841 there were 1,320 people in 207 houses. The parish was crossed by the road from

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...

, which ran past the castle. In the Roman Catholic system, Bunratty parish was united with

Tomfinlough Tomfinlough () is a civil parish in County Clare, Ireland. A Christian establishment was first made here around 540 AD. The parish lands were often raided by Irish, Viking, Norman and English forces in the years that followed. The church was all ...

and Kilconry parishes. As of 1845 the castle was being used as a barracks by the

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the island was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom. A sep ...

. During the Great Famine (1845 to 1852) Bunratty's population fell into decline. Bunratty is the location of the death of the last British soldier to die in Clare during the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

. Private William Reginald Williams of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers was fatally injured in a motorcycle accident on 7 July 1921, just four days before both sides came to a truce. Though Williams' body was never recovered, a Commonwealth War Grave in his memory lies in the north-east corner of the old Bunratty graveyard adjacent to the Bunratty Castle Hotel.. In the 1950s, Bunratty's most prominent structure, the then ruined Bunratty Castle, attracted the attention of John Hunt, Lord Gort and the Irish Government. The castle was extensively renovated and opened to the public in 1960. Although Bunratty Castle thrived, becoming a major draw for early transatlantic tourists, the village population continued to decline.

Location

Bunratty parish lies on the north shore of the

River Shannon The River Shannon ( or archaic ') is the major river on the island of Ireland, and at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of I ...

to the east of Drumline parish, south and west of Feenagh parish and west of Kilfintinan parish. The Ratty River, Ratty River, also named ''Owengarney River'' or ''O'Garney River'', which flows into the Shannon, defines the eastern boundary of the parish. The parish is about . It is part of the barony of Bunratty Lower. Bunratty Castle overlooks the Raite river. The village lies to the west of the castle. Bunratty parish is today part of the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

parish of

Newmarket-on-Fergus Newmarket-on-Fergus, historically known as Corracatlin (), is a town in County Clare, Ireland. It is from Ennis, from Shannon Airport, and from Limerick. History The English rendering of the name 'Newmarket-on-Fergus' probably owes its ori ...

which also contains the civil parishes of Clonloghan, Drumline, Kilconry, Kilmaleery,

Kilnasoolagh Kilnasoolagh () is a civil parish in County Clare, Ireland, and a townland within that parish. Church records mention the parish in 1256. Location In 1845 the parish lay on the west border of the barony of Lower Bunratty. It is west of Newma ...

and Tomfinlough.

Economy

Roadstone Wood operates a quarry in the center of the parish. It produces stone, blocks, concrete, mortar and blacktop. Eoin Gavin Transport has its road haulage office in Bunratty. The company founder, Eoin Gavin, began as the operator of an eight-wheel tipper from the quarry. Prior to the construction of the N18 bypass, the main road from Limerick and

Shannon Airport Shannon Airport () is an international airport located in County Clare in Ireland. It is adjacent to the Shannon Estuary and lies halfway between Ennis and Limerick. With almost 2 million passengers in 2023, the airport is the third busiest ...

passed through the village. Bunratty village itself caters mainly to tourists visiting Bunratty Castle and the Bunratty Folk Park. Besides ''Durty Nellys'', styling itself as one of Ireland's oldest pubs, there are a number of other pubs/restaurants. The village also provides accommodation in the form of hotels and bed & breakfasts. Several shops also cater to the needs of travellers and tourists.

Gallery

File:Rose Cottage at Bunratty.jpg, Rose Cottage in Bunratty folk park File:Bunratty Folk Park1.JPG, Cottages in the folk park File:Bunratty Castle, Clare (5263518190).jpg, Bunratty Castle before 1914 File:Bunrattybig.jpg, Bunratty Castle 2002 File:Bunratty Castle Kirche im Museum.jpg, Church in the castle grounds

References

Notes

Citations

External links

National Inventory of Architectural Heritage: Bunratty CastleNational Inventory of Architectural Heritage: Bunratty BridgeNational Inventory of Architectural Heritage: Bunratty HouseNational Inventory of Architectural Heritage: Bunratty Castle Hotel
{{County Clare Towns and villages in County Clare Civil parishes of County Clare