Dunbrody House Opens On The Hook Peninsula

In 1996 Kevin and Catherine Dundon found their house. After viewing twelve to fifteen properties, they bought Dunbrody, in Co Wexford^[1].

It is quite a place. Dunbrody is a house built in the 1830s, on the Hook Peninsula, surrounded by 300 acres of parkland, woodland and gardens^[3]. It sits in Arthurstown^[3].

Opening Day

In May 1997 the Dunbrody House Hotel and Cookery School opened its doors^[2]. The old mansion became a four-star country house hotel, with a cookery school on site^[2]. Kevin was thirty years old when he opened it^[4].

A Real Partnership

From the start, the couple split the work clearly. Catherine had been a European sales manager in the food trade^[1]. At Dunbrody she runs front of house, sales, marketing and interior design^[1]. Kevin handles the kitchen and much of the work outside the hotel^[1].

Dunbrody quickly became more than a hotel. It was a dining destination and a classroom. Guests came to eat, to stay and to learn to cook^[2][3].

More Than Thirty Years

Today the Dundons have lived at Dunbrody for more than thirty years^[3]. The house now has 22 bedrooms and suites^[3]. Food is served in the Harvest Room Restaurant, at Dundons Champagne Seafood Bar and at The Local at Dunbrody^[3].

The cookery school is still at the heart of it, with one-day courses and classes^[3]. Kevin's website also offers online cookery courses, carrying the Dunbrody lessons far beyond Wexford^[4].

Home And Business

For the Dundons, Dunbrody is both home and work. That mix of family warmth and professional polish is what many guests remember^[1][3].

The house also gave Kevin something unexpected: a door into television. It would open when a camera crew came to film at Dunbrody^[1].