USP: Close to the city, yet with the feel of a country estate, Orlagh House can accommodate both large weddings and smaller events for between eight and 25 guests and is only rented on an exclusive basis. The house itself dates back to the 1790s and sits on 50 acres with spectacular views out over the city and the Irish Sea.
Icing on the cake: Couples can choose to hold their reception in either the dining room or more spacious hall, with an option for an informal barbecue/food truck set up outdoors.
Cost: A day rate of €1,500 for a minimum of eight guests applies, with accommodation on top. Dinner from €60pp. orlaghestate.ie
Fanningstown Castle
Where: Adare, County Limerick
USP: If you fancy your own private castle for your wedding ceremony and reception, the Normoyle family’s 12th-century Fanningstown Castle is perfect for a micro-wedding for up to 10 guests, including the happy couple. And if you prefer to elope and have it just be the two of you, that’s an option too.
Icing on the cake: Fanningstown has its own in-house wedding planner who can take charge of all the details.
USP: The Orangery at Killruddery, a magnificent Tudor Revival mansion on a bio-diverse working farm that produces its own beef, pork and lamb, is a beautiful ceremony venue, although as it is unheated, it is best in the summer months. Adjacent is the Dining Room, the perfect size for a small group, while The Library, Drawing Room and Grain Store are alternatives for larger numbers.
Icing on the cake: The Dining Room has a splendid stucco ceiling and long windows looking across to the Long Ponds and a sparkling fountain.
Cost: Venue hire is €2,700, plus food and drink. killruddery.com
The Jameson Room, Chapter One
Where: Parnell Square, Dublin 1
USP: When it comes to marking an occasion, there is nowhere better than Ross Lewis’s Michelin-starred Chapter One, where the private Jameson Room seats 14. The balance between sophistication and warm hospitality is spot on, and the food showcases modern Irish cuisine at its very best.
Icing on the cake: If you’d like to take over the whole restaurant, Chapter One can accommodate up to 75 people for lunch or dinner on an exclusive basis.
Cost: Varies according to time of day, day of the week and number of guests. chapteronerestaurant.com
The Wine Cellar, Sheen Falls
Where: Kenmare, County Kerry
USP: Sheen Falls’ candlelit wine cellar, seating 10 guests, is opulent and atmospheric, perfect for an intimate celebration for an oenophile couple. Other options within the hotel include the Drawing Room, the Library and the William Petty Suite, the latter with room for up to 80 guests.
Icing on the cake: Sheen Falls is currently refurbishing an old boathouse, with views out over the bay, which can be used for outdoor ceremonies.
Cost: From €135 per guest, plus minimum room commitment. sheenfallslodge.ie
USP: When it comes to old school grandeur, the candlelit Constitution Room, where in 1922 a committee chaired by Michael Collins sat down to draft the Irish Constitution, is as good as it gets. Seating 12 with social distancing, larger numbers can be accommodated in the hotel’s other historic rooms, including The George Moore Suite, The St Stephen’s Suite and the newly renovated Adam & Deirdre Suite.
Icing on the cake: The crockery is by Vera Wang for Wedgwood, the cutlery is sterling silver and the service is white glove.
Cost: For up to eight people, the room rental fee is €500. The Private Dining Menu starts at €94pp, with a Traditional Wedding Menu from €72pp. theshelbourne.com
The Polo Room at One Pico
Where: Dublin 2
USP: The private dining room and bar at One Pico is ideal for a small city centre wedding for between 10 and 40 guests. Alternatively, couples can take over the restaurant itself, which accommodates 40-50 guests, a popular midweek option.
Icing on the cake: Chef Ciaran McGill’s sophisticated, elegant food is a delight.
Cost: Depends on the choice of food and drinks. onepico.com
USP: In the Manor House, you can start with a drinks and canapés reception in the Morning Room and move onto a wedding breakfast in The Parlour, or a wedding feast created by John Kelly in the Michelin-starred Lady Helen Dining Room, finishing up with post-dinner drinks in one of the hotel’s several bars.
Icing on the cake: There’s an elopement package for two where you can have the ceremony in the Lily Pond Garden (or indoors in the Parlour) followed by dinner in the Lady Helen and then spend a few days enjoying the estate.
Cost: Wedding package pricing starts at €160pp.mountjuliet.ie
15—25 guests...
Ard Nahoo Eco Retreat
Where: Dromahair, County Leitrim
USP: Take over Ard Nahoo and you can customise the eco retreat for exactly the wedding you want. There’s accommodation for 16, with room for up to 32 for the reception. The location provides plenty of great rustic photo opportunities, and you can avail of the services of an eco wedding planner.
Icing on the cake: Catering options include a fully vegan menu from Edergole Kitchen.
Cost: From €6,600 for exclusive hire for the weekend, plus extras. There’s a one-night option on Wednesdays starting at €5,300. ardnahoo.com
Tannery Cookery School
Where: Dungarvan, County Waterford
USP: The private dining room at the self-contained Tannery Cookery School can accommodate 20 guests, while the separate restaurant around the corner can take 30. The Tannery is also licensed as a venue for the ceremony. Coastal Dungarvan is picturesque and your guests can stay in the boutique Tannery Townhouse.
Icing on the cake:Ask nicely and Paul Flynn will serve his signature crab crème brûlée.
USP: JP McMahon’s Aniar is a very special West of Ireland restaurant seating 20. The terroir-based cuisine uses the best ingredients from the surrounding area, many of them wild, foraged, fermented and preserved, and gives a real sense of place.
Icing on the cake: Sommelier Zsolt Lukacs never goes for the obvious choice; his selections are a delight.
Cost: €3,500 for drinks on arrival, a 16-course tasting menu and wine pairings. aniarrestaurant.ie
Ballyvolane House
Where: Fermoy, County Cork
USP: Ballyvolane can host weddings for up to 140 guests in its barn and dining terrace, with glamping for guests, but smaller weddings for up to 25 people, using the house only, are also available. The wedding party gets to take over the six bedrooms and pretend that they live in this beautiful house.
Icing on the cake: As Ballyvolane is the home of Bertha’s Revenge, gin cocktails are a specialty. The rhubarb martini is particularly delicious.
Cost: From €4,500. ballyvolanehouse.ie
Coopershill House
Where: Riverstown, County Sligo
USP: If you hold your wedding at Coopershill, you have the exclusive use of 500 acres of deer pasture, woodland and gardens, together with the immaculate Blue Book property. Much of the food served at Coopershill is produced on the estate, whether it be venison from the field or vegetables from the kitchen garden, and chef Christina McCauley’s focus is on home-made, homegrown, local, organic and free-range.
Icing on the cake: The dining room is set with family silver and Irish crystal and seats 20 people. There are eight luxurious bedrooms, complete with canopy and four-poster beds.
Cost: €65pp for dinner and exclusive use of the Luxury Manor House and estate, plus private rental of the house for two to three nights from €2,100 per night. coopershill.com
USP: Get married at Roundwood House and you have a beautiful Palladian mansion to call your own — if just for a couple of days. You can have the ceremony either indoors or outdoors, and Hannah Flynn will decorate with wildflowers while her husband Paddy takes charge of the food, for a maximum of 24 guests. The house is divine and the hospitality warm and relaxed.
Icing on the cake: You can bring your own wine and pay a €10 corkage fee.
Cost: A fee of €2,000 secures exclusive use of the house and library, and the dinner package is €95pp, with accommodation for up to 24 adults available at an additional cost. roundwoodhouse.com
Locks
Where: Windsor Terrace, Portobello, Dublin 8
USP: The bright and airy canal-side dining room at Locks is a beautiful setting for a wedding lunch for 25 (40 without social distancing), and Paul McNamara’s food epitomises modern Irish food at its best. Upstairs, the private rooms can accommodate small weddings for between four and 15 guests.
Icing on the cake: You can try to persuade the swans into your photos.
Cost: Depends on the time of day and the day of the week. locksrestaurant.ie
USP: The luxurious Barrow House, which is licensed for wedding ceremonies, is located on the shores of Barrow Bay in north Kerry. With a group of up to 18, you can take over the house and have access to its gardens and adjacent private beachfront for three days.
Icing on the cake: A five-course breakfast with vegetarian options is included.
Cost: €5,000 plus private dining and drinks. barrowhouse.ie
Restaurant Lady Anne
Where:Castlecomer, County Kilkenny
USP: You get the exclusive use of an 18th-century manor house — Creamery House, ‘the jewel of Castlecomer’ — plus its gardens and wine cellar for your ceremony and reception, for a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 24 guests.
Icing on the cake:Keith Boyle’s food is terrific, and his wife Carmel is the on-site wedding planner.
Cost: All costs very clearly laid out in the online brochure. restaurantladyanne.ie
Castlewood House
Where: Dingle, County Kerry
USP:Named best hotel for service in Ireland in 2020 and a true beacon of Irish hospitality, Helen and Brian Heaton’s gorgeous Castlewood House is a licensed wedding venue that has seen its fair share of elopements, with Helen and Brian acting as witnesses. If you take over the whole house, you could have dinner for up to 20 in the private dining room.
Icing on the cake: If you prefer to go to a restaurant after the ceremony, you are spoilt for choice in Dingle.
Cost:Varies according to what you want. castlewooddingle.com
26—35 guests…
The Wicklow Escape
Where: Donard, County Wicklow
USP: Surrounded by nature, couples can opt for either an indoor ceremony in the music hall or an outdoor ceremony on the mountain deck or in the surrounding forests. The venue stands on an acre of its own land, and while the indoor dining capacity is 40, there’s a patio suitable for barbecues that will accommodate 50. There are beds for 24.
Icing on the cake: The ingredients for the wedding feast, many of them organic, come from the surrounding farms.
Cost: Midweek package from €6,990 for 18 guests. thewicklowescape.com
USP: Dunowen House is a good choice for laid-back coastal celebrations, with the option to hold the ceremony under the old sycamore tree in the garden and great photo opportunities on the small beaches nearby. Many of the organic ingredients for the wedding meal come from Dunowen’s own one-acre walled garden.
Icing on the cake: Dunowen used to belong to Noel Redding, bass player with the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and later to 1980s popstar Nik Kershaw, so it’s got rock’n’roll history.
Cost: From €4,500 for 30 guests with accommodation for 23, not including catering. dunowenhouse.ie
MoLI
Where: St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2
USP: There’s a private entrance for guests via Newman House at 85 St Stephen’s Green and you can hold your ceremony in the Old Physics Theatre, followed by a drinks reception in the beautiful Saloon. With social distancing, the capacity is 30.
Icing on the cake: The lovely terrace of the Reader’s Garden is perfect for photos, and there’s also private access to Iveagh Gardens behind.
Cost: Daytime hire is €750 plus VAT, with private dining options on top. moli.ie
One Pery Square
Where: Limerick city
USP: Country-house comfort in the city centre with terrific food from chef Keith Pigott. For fewer than 30 guests, there is exclusive use of the main house, while with 50 guests for dinner and the use of all bedrooms, there is exclusive use of the hotel, including all terraces and the secret garden.
Icing on the cake: The beautiful People’s Park across the street is a great location for photos.
Cost: Wedding meal priced from €59pp. oneperysquare.com
USP: Temple House has been a family home since the mid-17th century, and while owners Roderick and Helen Perceval can host large weddings, they are just as happy with a small group, with accommodation for 20 on the estate. You can have the ceremony either outside in the terraced gardens, or in the Gallery.
Icing on the cake: With the 1,000-acre estate at your disposal, you won’t be short of picturesque backdrops for your photos.
Cost: Roughly €9,050 for a 30-person wedding, including canapés, dinner, Prosecco and wine, and two nights’ B&B for 20 of the guests, with 10 staying nearby. templehouse.ie
Sol y Sombra
Where:Killorglin, County Kerry
USP: Located in a deconsecrated church, you can have any kind of wedding reception, from a sit-down banquet to an informal tapas-style sharing feast at Sol y Sombra. Plus, you can get married in a church with all the stained glass and none of the religion. Although Sol y Sombra used to do mainly larger weddings, it has adapted to smaller weddings for a minimum of 25 guests.
Icing on the cake:Your guests get to have a holiday in Kerry.
Cost: Depends on the day of the week, but from €100pp based on a group of 40 midweek. solysombra.ie
USP: Located on the Newpark Demesne, home to the Kitchin family, are three original stone barns — the Turf Barn, Wood Barn and Swallow Barn — available during the summer months for events including weddings, for which the typical capacity is 50 to 100 guests.
Icing on the cake: There’s a panel of recommended caterers (including Eunice Power, queen of wedding food) and no corkage charge for wine.
Cost: Enquire by email. juniperbarn.ie
The Wellington Room, The Merrion Hotel
Where: Merrion Street, Dublin 2
USP: The Merrion offers the quintessential city wedding experience against a backdrop of Georgian elegance and the hotel’s remarkable art collection. Couples are able to tailor every element of the day to their own preference. The Wellington Room is one of the hotel’s most beautiful grand salons, accommodating 35 with social distancing and 50 without.
Icing on the cake: Overlooking the hotel’s own private garden, there’s no need to go anywhere else for photos.
Cost: Pricing is individual due to the bespoke offering. merrionhotel.com
USP: Richard Corrigan’s Virginia Park Lodge is known for its wonderful pavilion, but inside the original house is a Victorian banqueting room, ideal for more intimate gatherings. The house sits on 100 acres, with gardens, lakes, follies and waterfalls making for perfect photo opportunities, and is licensed as a wedding venue. As you’d expect, the food is magnificent with much of the organic produce grown on the estate.
Icing on the cake: If you want a traditional ceremony, there’s a Church of Ireland church at the end of the driveway.
Cost: €175pp, plus €5,000 estate fee. virginiaparklodge.com
Chef Robbie McCauley cooks at Gregans Castle Hotel
Where: Ballyvaughan, County Clare
USP: Chef Robbie McCauley is the man responsible for the wonderful food at Gregans Castle in The Burren, which has had a great reputation ever since the days when Mickael Viljanen started out here. Noughval Church is close by if you want a religious ceremony, or you can opt for a civil ceremony in the Drawing Room.
Icing on the cake: If you want to linger over the meal, you can go for a nine-course tasting menu.
USP: A member of Irish Historic Houses, Wells House can host small weddings, including the ceremony, for between 20 and 50 guests within the house itself. The Victorian house is set on 460 acres of woodland and gardens, which provide excellent photo opportunties, and the interiors — think French gold and carved wooden staircases — are distinctly romantic.
Icing on the cake: Andrew Rudd of Medley does the catering.
Cost: Contact to discuss. wellshouse.ie
Murphy’s Barn
Where: Skeeter Park, County Wexford
USP: Couples can have both the ceremony and reception at Sinead Quirke’s cute rustic barn, with a choice of six caterers, including the Jordan family’s Westgate from Wexford town. Included in the rental fee are table settings, linens and decorations, and there’s no corkage charge.
Icing on the cake: The rural location on the scenic Hook Head offers plenty of photo opportunities.
Cost: From €1,500, plus catering. murphysbarn.com
La Peniche
Where: Grand Canal, Dublin 4
USP: With a minimum group of 40, you can have your wedding reception on a beautifully restored classic barge, the MV Riasc, moored between locks C4 and C5 on Dublin’s historic Grand Canal.
Icing on the cake: It’s very handy for the registry office on Grand Canal Street.
Cost: The three-course package starts at €42pp, including a drink on arrival. lapeniche.ie
The Lime House, Rock Farm
Where: Slane, County Meath
USP: While Rock Farm can accommodate larger, festival-style weddings with glamping, the straw-bale Lime House is ideal for smaller, more intimate events, with seating for up to 40 guests indoors, and overnight accommodation for 22. You can have the ceremony in one of the local churches or on site.
Icing on the cake: The Swallow’s Nest is a perfect little two-person hideaway for the wedding night.
Cost: Contact venue for a custom price. rockfarmslane.ie
Medley
Where: The Old Irish Times Building, Fleet Street, Dublin 2
USP: One of a handful of event spaces available for private hire in the city centre, Medley is located where the old Irish Times printing press once stood. The space has been beautifully refurbished, and while it can accommodate a large wedding, it is also suitable for groups of around 50.
Icing on the cake: Start off with drinks and canapés on the ground floor and move upstairs to the airy mezzanine for dinner.
Cost: From around €170pp to include arrival drinks, canapés, three-course dinner and wine. medley.ie
Powerscourt Distillery
Where:Powerscourt Estate, Enniskerry, County Wicklow
USP: The Waterfall Room and the Sugarloaf Room on the top floor of the Powerscourt Distillery can accommodate small weddings with between 12 and 50 guests. Decorated in an art-deco style, the rooms look down into the distillery, where copper stills glow in the light of evening. Couples can have their ceremony in Powerscourt House.
Icing on the cake: The catering is by Domini and Peaches Kemp’s Feast. And you won’t run out of whiskey.
Cost: Every wedding is unique, so price varies, but expect to pay a flat room hire and take it from there. powerscourtdistillery.com
The Circular
Where: Rialto, Dublin 8
USP: For a low-key but very cool urban wedding, the Back Room at the Circular is a great function room which would be perfect for a group of around 50 guests.
Icing on the cake:Coke Lane pizzas are perfect crowd-pleasing wedding fare.
