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food-drink · Saturday 15 August 2026 · Various 
Bettystown House Summer Long Table Dinner - Kerry to Meath Open Fire Cooking
At Bettystown House · Bettystown, Co. Meath
At Bettystown House · Bettystown, Co. Meath
A restored 17th-century estate opening its grounds to 60 guests for a night of open-fire cooking is not your typical summer dining event. On Saturday 15 August 2026, Bettystown House hosts the second dinner in its Summer Season Series - four courses served sharing-style along a communal long table, set outdoors on the estate’s 13 acres of gardens and parkland. House chef Aidan Ryan is joined by Chad Byrne, Executive Head Chef at The Brehon in Killarney and a Local Food Hero at the Irish Restaurant Awards, for an evening of bold, seasonal cooking that traces a line from the Kerry coastline to the Boyne Valley. At €100 a head with a welcome cocktail included, it is the kind of evening that suits anyone who finds the best nights tend to happen around a big table with good food and people they’ve only just met.
Aidan Ryan’s approach is rooted in open-fire cooking - the kind that slows everything down and keeps attention on the ingredients rather than the technique. For this dinner, he and Chad Byrne draw on produce from both regions: local Meath suppliers including Boyne Valley Cheese, The Smokin’ Butcher, Dunany Flour and Fairy Tree Wines sit alongside Kerry influences brought by Byrne. The format is four courses, sharing-style, which means plates moving around the table rather than a rigid à la carte progression. With just 60 places available, it is deliberately intimate - described by the organisers as feeling less like a restaurant booking and more like being invited to a great dinner party. Guests attending the dinner can also book an overnight stay at the house, with rooms running at €150 to €180 per night, subject to availability.
Bettystown sits on the Meath coast, roughly 50 km north of Dublin city centre and a short drive from Drogheda. By car, take the M1 motorway north from Dublin and exit for Julianstown, then follow signs for Bettystown along the R150. The journey from Dublin takes around 45 minutes outside rush hour. Bus Éireann serves Bettystown from Drogheda, which is itself well connected to Dublin by train on the Belfast line - a Dublin Connolly to Drogheda journey takes under 40 minutes. Contact Bettystown House directly for estate directions and parking.
The village is known for its long sandy beach - one of the better stretches of coastline in the east of Ireland - and the surrounding area rewards a longer visit if you have the time. There is more to see in Bettystown and across Co. Meath.
Heading to Bettystown House in Bettystown? Meath has plenty more to see. Read the Bettystown area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.