The Minstrels Gallery is the second longest room in Ireland and serves as a unique and inspiring venue for the most lavish party. The room is reached by a passage and flight of steps in the thickness of the wall, lighted by arched windows looking down into the hall, which has a most picturesque effect. Still more picturesque is the view of the tall and wonderfully carved doorways that once stood in some ancient church in Antwerp. When one looks at the engraving of the Gallery or indeed at the room today, one would find a Romantic Gothic revival on a tremendous scale.
The ceiling is of oak, with many bosses, pendants and pierced spandrels and has its cornice upheld by carved shields, the floor is also made of oak. Below the east and west window, Gothic stalls have been fitted and 15th century carvings are put together to form a pierced screen-line door at the entrance from the Minstrels Gallery. The choir stalls to the right of the door are 17th century Flemish. The row that faces them are made up to match by the Adare carvers and the latter also did the two series of panels inset in the wainscot on the north wall, one being taken from the Bible and the other from a book of illustrations of Froissart’s Chronicle. The four cupboards on the south wall are 17th century Flemish as are the book presses at the east end.
The Minstrels Gallery is Adare Manor's main function room and has catered for many banquets. The capacity for The Minstrels Gallery is 160 people.
