Coolest spots in golf: The Great Hall Reception at Adare Manor

October 19, 2019

Jack Hardy

The journey to County Limerick begins hundreds or even thousands of miles away. From County Clare, across the River Shannon through Irish countryside, you’ll arrive at the spectacular “Calendar House” that is Adare Manor. The aha moment hits as you glide into the Great Hall Reception. Golfers making the sojourn to experience the 2026 Ryder Cup venue still have to check in, after all, before teeing off on Adare’s Tom Fazio–designed masterpiece.

A stunning aerial view of Adare Manor.

Larry Lambrecht

The scale of the room is staggering; upon entering guests experience an oddly pleasant sensation of having been shrunk to doll size. (Imagine stepping on the tee of a straightaway 600-yard par 5 with a 100-yard-wide fairway under a cloudless blue sky. That’s also what it’s like.)

Soaring ceilings, vaulted arches and enormous windows (there are 365 of them throughout the original design of the manor, hence, a “calendar” house) are tempered by warm colors, a toasty fire roaring in the hearth and legendary Irish hospitality.

This wall once held one of Adare Manor’s most-prized possessions, a pipe organ wrought by Dublin’s William Telford. A new facade has been created to replicate where the original organ once was, concealing a discreet lift that whisks guests to the upper manor floors.

Paul Lehane

Adare Manor’s generous and deep-pocketed owner J.P. McManus and his team of architects spared no expense or detail in restoring the Great Hall Reception to its 19th-century grandeur. The hall was an intense labor of love for the founding Dunraven Earls. The third Earl, Edwin Wyndham-Quin, teamed with Gothic Revival architect Augustus Pugin to forge its features. Pugin was a veritable deity in England, having designed the interior of the Palace of Westminster and the Elizabeth Tower, which houses Big Ben. Add this place to his list of timeless beauties.

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