Bunratty or Blarney Castle

I have't been to Bunratty Castle, but I went to Blarney Castle as part of a tour that included it, although my focus was elsewhere. I liked it far more than I expected to. The stone is only a small part of it (and I wasn't planning on kissing it, but there was hardly any lineup that day, so I did). The castle itself is very pretty, and the grounds are interesting and fun.

Bunratty gets my vote if you can only do one. We enjoyed touring the grounds and then the castle dinner. I know the castle dinner is hokey but it’s fun.

They are just not the same. Any my answer depends on time of year.

I have been to Blarney in both high season and off season. The gardens are beautiful in high season, but I didn’t have time for the house. In off season, I had time but it wasn’t open. And the gardens were still nice but less beautiful.

Bunratty is fun if you go to the dinner - and the grounds are interesting because I like outdoor museums. But the grounds might not be so great in cold weather or rain. But the dinner is fun any time.

I though Blarney Castle was open all year round.

Well….. there’s no telling. I know Blarney Castle and Gardens is open year-round. I was talking about Blarney Castle House - and felt like it was closed when I was there in mid-November. But I could be totally wrong in many directions. When I went in June, I didn’t even have time to check on it.

My mistake - I'd not heard of Blarney Castle House... I've been doing a bit of googling and it is in the grounds of Blarney CAstle. Apparently It was built in 1874 for Sir George Conway Colthurst, 5th Baronet and his wife, Louisa, whose family owned Blarney Castle, so that his family could live on their Blarney estate. It was probably much more comfortable with all the mod cons of the day and Blarney Castle was a tourist destination even then.

In four trips to Ireland, we've avoided Blarney Castle & Gardens since we hate anything where the lot is full of tour buses (think Cliffs of Moher). I'm sure the gardens are beautiful, but there is no shortage of beautiful gardens in Ireland. We have been to Bunratty and enjoyed the castle tour and strolling around the 'fake' village with the animals and docents. We enjoyed it enough to return a few years later but were later in the afternoon and the upcoming dinner restricted entry to only a few minutes, so we drove on. The dinner might be fun, but it never syncs with our overnights plans. I've actually included is again on our 2025 trip. There are tour buses at Bunratty, but it seems large enough to absorb the crowds.

Thank you all! We are going in March so hoping the crowds won’t be too bad.