What is recorded here

Indicated is a lost formal garden in County Clare, buried beneath a hotel and private homes but still marked on old maps as a sharp rectangle north of the castle. Cardinal Rinuccini called the area the most beautiful spot he had ever seen in 1646, praising its ponds, park and deer, while later excavations hinted that the garden lay across an older moat. The place has been reduced to a hotel car park, yet its lines remain visible in survey work and memory.

According to Sherlock (2011, 215), citing Share (1995, 45) evidence for gardens, possibly those described by Cardinal Rinuccini in 1646, was found during excavations that took place in the vicinity of the castle between 1964 and 1967. These excavations were directed for the Office of Public Works by Marcus ó hEochaidh, but the results have never been published. Apparently these gardens overlay an earlier moat which was largely left unexcavated. Cardinal Rinuccini, who supported the Confederate army during the siege of 1646, wrote as follows: ‘I have no hesitation in asserting that Bunratty is the most beautiful spot I have ever seen. In Italy there is nothing like the palace and grounds of Lord Thomond, nothing like its ponds and park, with its three thousand head of deer (CL062-001011-).’ A formal rectangular garden (108m NNW-SSE; 76m ENE-WSW) is shown on the OS 6-inch maps of 1840 and 1922, 120m N of the castle and immediately N of the battery (CL062-001006-) and 16th/17th century house (CL062-001008-). A decoy pond is shown 20m E of the garden on the OS 25-inch map. This area is now occupied by portion of the Shannon Shamrock Hotel and some private dwellings. Compiled by: Mary Tunney Date of upload: 7 October 2019

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