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

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,81 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

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

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...

and

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

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

Shannon Estuary The Shannon Estuary ( gle, Inbhear na Sionainne) 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 th ...

, which defines the southern boundary.

History

The first settlement in Bunratty may have been set up by

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to 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 se ...

in the 10th century. The

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Deluge, dated as 2,24 ...

report that

Brian Boru Brian Boru ( mga, Brian Bóruma mac Cennétig; modern ga, Brian Bóramha; 23 April 1014) was an Irish king who ended the domination of the High Kingship of Ireland by the Uí Néill and probably ended Viking invasion/domination of Ireland. ...

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 Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

, 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 Mac Conmara (anglicised as MacNamara or McNamara) is an Irish surname of a family of County Clare in Ireland. The McNamara family were an Irish clan claiming descent from the Dál gCais and, after the O'Briens, one of the most powerful famili ...

family in the early part of the 15th century. It later became property of the

O'Briens The O'Brien dynasty ( ga, label=Classical Irish, Ua Briain; ga, label=Modern Irish, Ó Briain ; genitive ''Uí Bhriain'' ) is a noble house of Munster, founded in the 10th century by Brian Boru of the Dál gCais (Dalcassians). After becoming ...

, who eventually made it their principal seat as

Earls of Thomond Earl of Thomond was an hereditary title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created twice for the O'Brien dynasty which is an ancient Irish sept native to north Munster. History and background First creation Under the Crown of Ireland Act 1542 ...

. 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 () 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 County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...

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

Tomfinlough Tomfinlough ( ga, Tuaim Fhionnlocha) 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 follow ...

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

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...

. 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 () or Anglo-Irish War was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and British forces: the British Army, along with the quasi-mil ...

. 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 Field Marshal John Standish Surtees Prendergast Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort, (10 July 1886 – 31 March 1946) was a senior British Army officer. As a young officer during the First World War, he was decorated with the Victoria Cross for his actio ...

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 ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), 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 the island of Ireland. The Sha ...

to the east of

Drumline Marching percussion instruments are instruments specially designed to be played while moving. This is achieved by attaching the drum(s) to a special harness (also called a carrier or rack) worn by the drummer, although not all marching bands us ...

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. It has few residents and is not counted as a village in the Irish

Census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

. Bunratty parish is today part of the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

parish of Newmarket-on-Fergus which also contains the civil parishes of

Clonloghan Clonloghan ( ga, Cluain Lócháin) is a civil parish of County Clare, Ireland, located by road northwest of Limerick, just north of Shannon. Geography The civil parish of Clonloghan lies in the barony of Bunratty Lower. It is in the souther ...

, Drumline, Kilconry, Kilmaleery, Kilnasoolagh 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 ( ga, Aerfort na Sionainne) is an international airport located in County Clare in the Republic of Ireland. It is adjacent to the Shannon Estuary and lies halfway between Ennis and Limerick. The airport is the third busiest ai ...

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