The Falconry School at Ashford Castle
Review
Once a proud entry in my Top 100 Attractions on the Island of Ireland book, the Falconry School at Ashford Castle no longer earns that badge. After Covid and since we have been lucky enough to go hard back all over the world, I now revisit all of the attractions that I endorsed last time, just to make sure they are still worthy of the Top 100 Attractions seal of approval. This means that I simply revisit and take a hour of their time, to meet with the owners to see what has changed over the time that has past since my last visit. Over several weeks I have attempted to arrange a short conversation with owners James and Deborah Knight, to arrange to revisit the falconry school, leaving my number repeatedly with different staff, yet embarrassingly for the staff I’ve spoken to, received no reply whatsoever. For a business trading on the prestige of Ashford Castle, this radio silence from the owners is baffling and, frankly, disturbingly disrespectful. If that’s how they treat someone seeking to re-endorse them after many years in my successful book and website, one worries about visitors who’ve travelled a long way and paid good money.
Let me remind you all that location isn’t a substitute for standards. Being attached to a castle with rooms reportedly around £500 to £600 a night does not automatically make you a first-class attraction; professionalism does. Great attractions pick up the phone, value dialogue, and show care off the field as much as on it. Until the basics, courtesy, responsiveness, and accountability, are restored, this falls well short of the Top 100 criteria we look for.
Look elsewhere for a falconry experience that values your time as much as your ticket!
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Location
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