Markree Castle Hotel
Markree Castle: Where 400 Years of History Meets Modern Hospitality Payments
Markree Castle is a 17th century castle hotel set on 500 acres in County Sligo, along Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way. One of the country’s most sought-after wedding and events venues, it has been welcoming guests for decades and is widely regarded as one of Ireland’s most romantic castle experiences.
The origins of Markree Castle trace back to the 1660s, when the Cooper family acquired the estate under the Act of Settlement of King Charles II. What began as a fort guarding a ford on the Unshin river grew into one of the most storied properties in Ireland, presiding over 40,000 acres by 1727. In the early 19th century, celebrated architect Francis Johnson, the man behind the GPO in Dublin, was commissioned to extend and reimagine it entirely. Those are the bones visitors walk through today.
In 2015, the Corscadden family, a renowned Irish hotelier family behind the Romantic Castles of Ireland collection, took ownership of Markree. Following an extensive renovation, the castle reopened in March 2017 and continues to welcome guests to this day.
Bringing Payments Into the 21st Century
For the past two and a half years, the team at Markree Castle has used Pay by Bank to collect wedding and event payments. Pay by Bank enables seamless account to account payments without the card scheme fees, interchange fees, or chargeback risks that eat into margins on high value bookings.
For a venue like Markree, where weddings and events represent significant transactions, the results have been tangible:
- Lower payment costs by eliminating card scheme and interchange fees on high value bookings
- Improved cash flow with instant settlement
- Reduced fraud and chargeback risk through secure, bank-level authentication
- A better guest experience by replacing cumbersome bank transfers with a simple, instant payment journey completed through the guest’s own mobile banking app
Hear It Directly From Markree’s General Manager
Nicholas Ryan, General Manager at Markree Castle, joined Prommt and HOSPA for a recent webinar, “Reduce Payment Costs and Friction with Pay by Bank in Hospitality,” where he shared exactly how Pay by Bank has worked in practice at Markree Castle.
Learn how hotels can move away from costly card payments and manual bank transfers, replacing them with a faster, more secure, and seamless payment experience for both guest and operator.
👉 Watch the Prommt + HOSPA webinar now and hear Nicholas’s story in full.
Speakers:
Jane Pendlebury, CEO, HOSPA
Ian Murray, VP of Client Growth, Prommt
Nicholas Ryan, General Manager, Markree Castle