Barberstown Castle

Kildare’s Hidden Gem is Sparkling

“It’s important to create your own niche in the market, providing something different, something special - the old world feel with a modern twist,” according to Ted Robinson, Managing Director of Barberstown Castle, a renowned landmark nestled in the rich fertile plains of north Kildare. This stunning property acquired by Amanda Torrens, has operated as a hotel for around 50 years, having had 37 owners dating back to 1288. Nicholas Barber, who the castle is named after, built it as a castle keep, while the renowned musician Eric Clapton owned the property between 1979 and 1987. During that period the castle played host to some of the most iconic musicians in the world, including the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. From 1987, it was owned by Ken Healy, who developed it from a 25-bed to a 58-bed hotel, which also became home to a well-renowned restaurant. Currently, Barberstown Castle is open seven days a week and is actively engaging with local communities in Clane, Celbridge, Leixlip, Maynooth and of course Straffan, all of whom have embraced this important landmark. There is an even broader appeal of Barberstown Castle to the south County Dublin market described by Ted. “It feels like the country, but it’s only a short distance from Dublin City Centre. You can stay in a castle, enjoy a five-course meal in a really relaxed atmosphere, and really feel like you’ve had a break.”

Walking through the doors of Barberstown, guests can experience various architectural changes to the castle over many centuries, including a large and inviting reception area which retains the original features of the castle. While cuisine has always been renowned, led for the last 25 years by an amazing executive head chef in Bertie Malabat, the focus is also on making guests feel welcome and at ease within an intimate, yet homely environment. Work has also begun upgrading bedrooms, creating a bespoke feeling befitting a 13th century castle, with the eventual goal of developing the first and second floors into an impressive Presidential Suite. What was formerly ‘The Old Bar’, has been transformed into ‘The Barton Bar’, perfect for pre-dinner drinks and entertaining. ‘The Barton Rooms Restaurant’ was once the original dining room of the Main House and has recently been refurbished to create the perfect fine dining experience. The conservatory area has also evolved into ‘The Garden Bar’, with a focus on development of interior elements, while retaining its unique character. Yet another stunning aspect of this property lies within the vast gardens of Barberstown Castle, ably managed by full-time gardener, Terry Healy. Improved hotel signage has had a high impact, complemented by front and rear access to the castle. The vision is an experience of a beautiful, medieval home people can avail of for a business meeting or friendly cup of tea, with an ever-present welcome.

There are also ‘quirky’ places for guests to enjoy, including the old medieval banqueting hall, perfect for civil wedding ceremonies and extremely popular for wedding gatherings over several days. In fact, Barberstown Castle can accommodate weddings for 240 guests, with all aspects of the celebration being catered for in-house. Guests can enjoy dinner the night before the civil ceremony in the ‘Castle Keep’, which is over 800-years old. A stunning pre-drinks reception can be arranged in the ‘Banqueting Hall’ followed by nuptials in the ‘Medieval Conservatory’, with of course, celebratory drinks and fine dining afterwards. The following day, a less formal barbeque can be hosted in the ‘Haggard Bar’ which is an old traditional pub located in what were formerly our stables. In addition, Barberstown’s stunning gardens hosts the ‘Shephard’s Bar’ which is ideal for smaller gatherings, surrounded by a backdrop perfect for wedding photographs.

The wedding market is central to Barbertown Castle, with the ultimate goal of hosting one wedding a day. “One of the beauties of Barberstown is that you can have three or four things happening in different parts of the hotel, at the same time and still enjoy a coffee in the relaxed setting of the lobby,” Ted enthuses. He is also passionate about flying and holds a helicopter pilot licence. Ted has been able to marry his passion by offering luxury options to guests including lunch at the hotel with a return helicopter flight to locations like the Punchestown Races or the Curragh Racecourse, as well as Ladies’ Day, then fly back to enjoy their competitively priced luxurious package. “We are proud to offer this kind of service,” beams Ted. The helicopter offering can also cater to guests arriving at Dublin airport. In addition, the mid-week leisure market is an area of opportunity for Barberstown, offering exciting experiences like clay pigeon shooting in nearby Abbeylands, or horse riding, along with an afternoon tea experience.

Barberstown’s position as the closest castle to Dublin Airport is a perfect start or end point for tours around the country. The target market is primarily the tourism sector, particularly influenced by the US market, catering for high-end tour groups. The US is also an important market for bespoke wedding experiences. Barberstown Castle also partners with Dynamic Events to offer additional activities, ranging from orienteering to corporate event packages. The corporate market is also important, offering a range of unique meeting rooms, with all the facilities required, including state-of-the-art WiFi and IT systems.

There is enormous importance placed on the team at Barberstown. “We have a great, passionate team lead by our extremely experienced General Manager Richard

Millea, and our vision is to be one of the friendliest castles in Ireland,” gushes Ted. Like all areas of the hospitality industry, staffing is most challenging, so Barberstown recognises the importance of a happy and fulfilled experience for their team. Currently, there are approximately 100 team members, both full and part-time. This close relationship with staff helps build an important relationship with guests, which is of central importance, providing an amazing, warm Irish welcome and anticipation of every guest’s needs. According to Ted, “We want to develop what we have and fine tune it, and then really express ourselves in terms of the next level. We want visitors to say wow, it’s special, it’s different!”