The Dromoland Castle Estate, a five-star hotel in Co Clare, will close for about six months s it undergoes a redevelopment worth €55 million in advance of next year’s Ryder Cup golf tournament some 50 kilometres away at Adare Manor.
The estate is primarily looking to increase the accommodation on offer, increasing the number of bedrooms and suites in the 16th-century castle from 96 to 121, with works due to begin in November.
“An equity investment from our shareholders as well as retained earnings and bank loans have allowed us to build out the capital for this project,” a spokesperson for the estate told The Irish Times.
“Just a five-minute walk from the castle” will be the newly-created Walled Garden collection, the estate said, with “13 spacious guestrooms within the converted former stables”. Elsewhere, the Heritage Collection will provide a further 16 guestrooms “occupying a newly constructed floor opposite the Castle’s main entrance”.
The Dromoland estate sits on 388 acres outside the village of Newmarket on Fergus. Its 18-hole golf course, clubhouse, leisure centre and two private lodges will remain open to customers for the duration of the castle’s renovation. It is also looking to refurbish its Brian Ború Hall, a ballroom-cum-boardroom, with two new meeting rooms.
The company was granted planning permission by Clare County Council in February. A planning report lodged alongside the application said “the timing of these works is driven by the Ryder Cup’s return to Ireland in 2027”.
“Dromoland Castle’s long-standing reputation in gold tourism and its strategic location near Adare position it perfectly to play a leading role in welcoming these visitors and ensuring that county Clare shares in the international spotlight.”
The estate continued: “At the heart of the renovation will be a 3,200-square-foot [297 square metres] glass-enclosed atrium,” which will open in July next year. It will reimagine “the historic courtyard as the new social heart of the castle, the light-filled space will bring a relaxed sense of energy and conviviality to the property.”
Other improvements include the building of two saunas on the shores of the estate’s private lake, the launching of an open-kitchen grill restaurant and the opening of a previously in-use walled garden to grow produce.
The resort’s general manager Mark McSorley said the redevelopment would mark a “new chapter for the estate”.
“The ambition is not to change the essence of Dromoland, but to reveal the full breadth of what it can be – a place where the castle and the estate are experienced as one,” he added.