Falconry

Our family did the Hawk Walk at Ashford in June 2015. We were not guests of the hotel. It was wonderful. I reserved a few months in advance.

We did the falconry school at Ashford last July. We were staying at the lodge at Ashford Castle ( which highly recommend)
We had a private guide for our family of 4 who was beyond awesome. My 11 year old daughter was a little hesitant to participate and our guide did such an amazing job of making her comfortable. We still talk about it as the coolest thing we have ever done. We made the reservation about 4 months before our trip

We stayed at Ashford, and we made both our School of Falconry reservations and hotel reservations about a month or so before our trip to Ireland (late August about four years ago). But, that was before Ashford Castle was named one of the top 5 hotels in the world (under its new owners) and underwent a huge renovation (and it was absolutely lovely before that). Unless something has changed, the school accepts reservations regardless of whether one is a guest at Ashford or not.

We had a guide just for the two of us, and we each had our own hawk to learn the launching and landing techniques. We had a short orientation before taking to the garden/forest, during which we learned about hawks, how they live, how they feed, etc. Very interesting.

We also observed the hawks being readied for other guests at Dromoland.

The advantage of doing the Hawk Walk at Ashford is that the grounds are vast, so lots of room for the activity. But, likely, you would have a nice experience at any of the places you list. We did not stay at Adare Manor (we just dropped by for coffee), but it looks truly lovely!

If you have not already searched YouTube, there are lots of postings of people enjoying the experience. Definitely fun and memorable!

We did the Ashford Castle hawk walk and did not stay at the castle. We stayed at a nearby B&B that was great and close to the castle and hawk walk location. http://nymphsfieldhouse.com/ We did have an evening meal on the castle grounds at the lower priced restaurant not actually in the castle but on the property...sorry I cant recall the name but the food was great and we had a great view of a little harbour on the lake from our table. There was just my wife and I on the walk and we each had our own hawk. We sprung for the extra money for the extended walk and were glad we did. It is a bit pricy but was a wonderful experience. Our guide was a really nice young guy that had a great sense of humor and was very informed and cared that our walk was a good experience for us. I had not researched other hawk walk locations so our trip up to Cong was basically based around the walk. In the end it was really cool that we went up to Cong as the village was great (see Quiet Man movie), the castle area was beautiful. We spent most of our Ireland vacation further south in Dingle, Kenmare, and Kerry. The trip up to Cong allowed for a visit to Doolin which was a great spot as well. If you enjoy birds, the woods, and unique things don't pass on the hawk walk, we loved it!!! I had made a reserve a few months in advance but as I said the hawk walk was the focus for the early part of our trip so I planned in advance.
Dave Bedford, Indiana USA

If you plan on being in Dublin during your stay, my wife and I had a wonderful experience with Trevor and his birds at Dublin Falconry, located 40 minutes north east of the city center. We had a private session, something I booked in Jan for our April visit.

Thank you all. Staying at Ashford is out of our price range due to the fact that we would need two rooms there. For my family of four with two teens, a family room wouldn't work. For their family room, children must be under a certain age. 😢 But, I'm still interested in their walk. I did not know about Dublin Falconry, so that adds another option. As I'm fine tweaking our plans, I'll be sure to consider all these choices. Much to think about!!

Christine

Have you looked into the lodge at ashford castle? The castle itself was out of our budget but then I found this
https://www.thelodgeac.com

On property, includes breakfast and our room was on two floors... all 4 of us fit in very comfortably

The Hawk Walk at Ashford Castle was amazing. As Rick says it is something you didn't realize needed to be on your bucket list. My husband and I talk about it all the time and will do it again if we get the chance.

We found renting a private home for the week and only staying 4 days was far less expensive than any nearby B&B, lodge or castle stay for the four nights - we got tons of room, great location and scenery, privacy and quiet. Just an option to ponder. We found a GREAT place through Shamrock Cottages.

I've done Ashford Castle with a friend who was on a magazine tour; and i've met the gang from Kerry (Killarney, Kingdom, and Ring of Kerry) in Sneem. The World Falconry Meet was in Sneem last year. Amazing birds and falconers from all over the world!

I thought that Ashford one was grand! However, I felt it was crowded and a bit touristy. The man from Killarney was a hobbyest who loves the birds and the hills of Kerry, and would be more like visiting a friend who loves to show his stuff!

That said, I'd recommend the Ring of Kerry group because, though it's not a castle, Parknasilla Resort where they are based is absolutely stunning! I've stayed there twice and if I could move there, I would! On the sea; near walking; falconry; kayaking..... do a search and check them out, too!

Susan
Ex pat in Waterville

Thank you everyone for your valuable insight.

Susan, Parknasilla looks divine and I had not known about Ring of Kerfy falconry. Thank you!

Christine