How To Make An 844-Year-Old Irish Castle Sustainable

How do you make Kilkea Castle sustainable?

That’s the difficult question its owners had to answer when they renovated the old fortress and turned it into the Kilkea Castle Estate & Golf Club.

“We’re very committed to sustainability,” says Adrian Mooney, the property’s sales director. “And the process has been ongoing for years.”

But recently, there’s been a sense of urgency. Above-normal temperatures, fewer frost days, and weather that feels more Mediterranean than Irish have prodded Kilkea to set new, ambitious sustainability goals. (Other Irish hotels have felt similar pressure, including the Anantara property in Dublin.)

Kilkea is trying hard to answer the question about how to make a 10th-century castle sustainable. Visitors will notice a greener property in many small ways. But then, that’s not the reason Kilkea is embarking on a sustainability journey.

Here’s how they made Kilkea Castle sustainable

Kilkea Castle, built in 1180, is a protected structure under Irish law. Any changes to the hotel are controlled and managed through the country’s development control process. So when it came to making it sustainable, the options were limited.

Although you can’t remodel a tower to fit solar panels on the roof of a historic castle, you can ensure that the guest rooms are as green as possible. That means eliminating single-use plastics, implementing an aggressive recycling program and sourcing restaurant meals locally to avoid leaving an oversized carbon footprint.

You can also plant vegetables in your immaculately manicured English garden and serve them to guests who want an authentic farm-to-table experience.

Kilkea Castle Estate & Golf Club did all of those things in and around the castle.

But the guest villas — well, that’s another story. Those received solar panels and energy-efficient insulation and heating, bringing them to the highest possible standard.

It still wasn’t enough.

How they took sustainability to the next level

As the world started to heat up, Kilkea’s efforts to become greener turned more serious. There were EV charging stations, a new leach field to handle wastewater, and even more solar panels. Last year, the hotel also added a new Volvo XC60 Hybrid courtesy car.

Mooney says the hotel wanted to find even more ways to save energy. So it installed a new building management system.

“This tells us our energy output and flags spikes so we can monitor and best control,” he explains.

For example, if someone leaves the heat on in the conference center, the building management system will alert hotel management to it — and they can power it down.

Although Kilkea’s owners explored the possibility of harnessing the nearby River Grease for hydroelectric power, they found that th current wasn’t powerful enough. But the next green energy project is showing a lot of potential.

“We are very early in the scoping the property for geothermal energy,” he says.

In fact, just a few days ago, engineers were drilling two areas near the clubhouse and golf course. If all goes as planned, Kilkea Castle will have access to geothermal energy by next fall.

How much would the hotel save?

“It’s impossible to say at this point,” he says.

Is this what guests want?

Kilkea’s efforts to reach a new level of sustainability come at a time when Irish tourism officials are making a push for more green initiatives.

But the big question is: Do guests want it?

Mooney says it depends on the guest. The average visitor doesn’t ask if the hotel is sustainable. But meeting planners often have a checkbox for sustainability efforts when they send out a request for proposal, so having a ready answer is helpful.

Is anyone paying attention? Yes, but mostly in small ways. There’s the notice on the menu, explaining that the chef aims to “reduce the food miles” it takes to bring you a meal. There’s the produce grown just a stone’s throw from the castle. There are solar panels and a hybrid courtesy car, all carrying the same message: We want to be part of the solution.

So the average guest is getting a more sustainable experience even though it might not be requested. And that’s just fine with the folks at Kilkea Castle.

Ultimately, says Mooney, Kilkea hasn’t embarked on these sustainability efforts for the benefit of the guests — although the guests often benefit from them. And it isn’t for the publicity, either. Kilkea hasn’t sent out any media releases boasting about its sustainability.

Rather, it’s a deep conviction by its owners that sustainability, while not always easy, is the right thing to do.