Prepare to experience village life in 19th century Ireland!
The Village Street is the epicentre of Bunratty Folk Park. Here you will find a collection of brightly coloured shops and buildings side by side. The sweet sounds of traditional Irish music are carried through the air, and the village characters, including the schoolteacher, policeman and village doctor are on hand to entertain and enthrall all who visit.
The village houses and shops in the Folk Park have been chosen from many different areas, to form a collection of typical 19th-century urban Irish buildings including the School, Doctor’s house, Pawnbrokers, Pub, Drapery, Printworks, Grocery, Hardware shop, Pottery and a Post Office.
In the early 19th century the country people provided for most of their own needs in food, clothing and supplies and bought only luxuries such as sugar, salt and tea. Fairs and markets in the Village gave the farmers and rural craftsmen the opportunity to sell their products for cash, while shops provided for the rural dweller's needs.
However, during this time, exciting new products were becoming available in the local shops, which started to rival, and eventually replace home production.
The village is set at a time of fundamental change in Irish society, and as such illustrates the growing money-orientated lifestyle of many of the villagers alongside the traditional, self-sufficient rural culture.
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