Things to do in Adare & Around
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Adare Castle
Dating back to around 1200, this picturesque feudal ruin saw rough usage until it was finally wrecked for good by Cromwell's troops in 1657. By then it had already lost its strategic importance. Restoration work is ongoing; look for the ruined great hall with its early 13th-century windows.
Book tours through the Heritage Centre. When tours aren't on, you can view the castle from the busy main road, or more peacefully from the riverside footpath or the grounds of the Augustinian priory.
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Adare Heritage Centre
In the middle of the village, exhibits at Adare's heritage centre explain the history and the medieval context of the village's buildings in an entertaining way. Try picking up the longbow (have you had your spinach today?). Quality Irish crafts are on sale, there's also a busy cafe.
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Wild Geese
In a town where upmarket competition is downright fierce, this inviting cottage restaurant keeps the standard consistently high. The ever-changing menu celebrates the best of southwest Ireland's produce, from scallops to sumptuous racks of lamb. The service is genial, preparations are imaginative and the bread basket divine.
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Good Room Cafe
Inventive soups, salads, sandwiches, baked goods and homemade jams at this (very) good room are more contemporary than you'd expect from the cutesy thatched-cottage location. Arrive early before their famous scones sell out.
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Bill Chawke Lounge Bar
There’s trad music every Thursday night and a singalong on Friday nights (or any other night that the pints loosen up the baritones). There’s a beer garden, too.
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Seán Collins
Adare’s most traditional pub – despite a recent refurbishment – has a good menu of pub favourites. On Monday there’s trad music (more often in summer).
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Dovecot
This bright and airy cafeteria packs ’em in for typical, but good, breakfast and lunch fare.
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The White Sage
Local, often organic, suppliers have star billing on the menu of this lovely little restaurant, housed in a cottage on the main street. Vegetarian options are limited but inspired, such as cider-infused pear salad and a shallot and goats cheese tarte tatin.
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Religious Houses
Before the Tudor dissolution of the monasteries (1536–39), Adare had three flourishing religious houses, the remains of which can still be seen. In the village itself, next to the heritage centre, the dramatic tower and southern wall of the Church of the Holy Trinity date from the 13th-century Trinitarian priory that was restored by the first Earl of Dunraven. Holy Trinity is now a Catholic church. There's a restored 14th-century dovecote down the side-turning next to the church.
The ruins of a Franciscan friary, founded by the Earl of Kildare in 1464, stand in the middle of Adare Manor golf course beside the River Maigue. Public access is assured, but let them know at t…
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Blue Door
Gourmet salads, open-faced sandwiches and lasagnes appear at lunch at this cottage restaurant in the village centre, while dinner ups the ante with creative twists on local seafood and meat, like beechwood-smoked duck and cod in chardonnay sauce.
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Adare Manor Golf Club
Adare is a big hit with golfers; centrally located courses include the spectacularly set Adare Manor Golf Club.
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