Bansha Castle is a great house and our group of friends had a fabulous time calling it home for a week. We were a group of 12 adults, converging on Tipperary from Boston, New York, Washington and San Francisco (Berkeley).
It's a big, expansive comfortable house. There was plenty of room for our large household -- the bedrooms were all spacious, and there was plenty of room to hang out in the living room, big upstairs landing, back garden, large dining room and big kitchen. The grounds around the house are spectacular -- large manicured lawns, beautiful open fields, enormous beech trees and other trees, distant mountain views, and a lovely walled garden in the back planted with beautiful blooming flower beds.
Bansha Castle is right outside of the town (you can walk in for errands, the pub, church, etc.) but the setting is totally private and quiet, set way back off of the road in its own world. The location of the house is in the middle of incredibly beautiful Tipperary scenery and within easy striking distance of a lot of activities, from castle and abbey ruins to hiking, music, restaurants, and boating on Lough Derg.
Teresa and John Russell are perfect hosts, warm and welcoming, helpful and informative, while -- although they live in a wing of the house -- scarcely in evidence, quiet, and respectful of their guests' privacy. (The house in general is a very quiet retreat -- thick walls keep sound from traveling from room to room.) We had dinner catered by the Russells one evening, which we highly recommend! Teresa cooked a delicious meal, John served, and they hosted it in the dining room of their wing, one of the stately original rooms of the house; it was an altogether charming and memorable evening.
Bansha Castle is a find -- an enchanting place to experience Ireland and create lasting memories. Thank you Teresa and John! With best wishes from all of us.
