Known for being one of the oldest known beverages, this legendary drink became an esteemed delicacy of Medieval Irish Castles and a fixture at festivities and celebrations. Mead was the chief drink of the ancient Irish and was often referred to in Gaelic poetry. Mead’s influence was so great that the halls of Tara, where the High Kings of Ireland ruled, were called the House of the Mead Circle, or Teach Míd Chuarda. Today, Bunratty Mead is an essential part of Bunratty’s medieval experience — Served in iconic ceramic goblets at the castle banquet we toast to good fortune, friendship, and celebration.
The Origin of Honeymoon, Irish monks’ mead wine spread throughout medieval Ireland, as mead was used to toast and bless couples in their marriage ceremonies. It became customary, for a newlywed bride and groom to be gifted with enough mead to enjoy for one full cycle of the moon, hence the word “honeymoon”. According to Irish tradition, at the end of a marriage banquet, the bride and groom, each with a goblet of mead, would recite an old Irish toast.
