That Time I Went Back to the Future on a Work Trip to Dromoland Castle

October 21, 2015 is a date of epic significance. Back to the Future II centers around this date in time. It was a day that seemed impossibly far in the future when the movie premiered 30 years ago.

I was lucky enough to visit Dromoland Castle near Limerick City on this auspicious date as part of a work retreat.

I am a fan of bleisure travel in general and this trip is proof that it is possible to have fun when you are traveling for work without needing to add on any extra time at all.

I had a fantastic time exploring the castle both inside and out. Let me take you back to the past before I take you Back to the Future.

A silver Delorean DMC-12 sports car parked on the lawn outside Dromoland Castle, a gray stone building with red ivy climbing its facade.

A close-up of an armored statue wearing a pink tartan sash, standing beside a wooden table in the hall of Dromoland Castle, Ireland.

Table of Contents

Inside a Medieval Castle

The current castle dates back to 1835 but the estate harkens back even further to medieval times. We were greeted by opulence and shining suits of armour upon arrival.

A Formidable Structure

The sun even managed to show itself (not a guaranteed occurrence in Ireland, for sure!) I took a walk around the grounds of Dromoland Castle. The walls seemed menacing and impenetrable.

An Idyllic Estate

The Dromoland Castle estate features a prominent golf course and associated walking trails. Taking advantage of the sunshine, I was transported back in time with every step imagining how the lords and ladies of the manor might have gone hunting or for a leisurely stroll on the grounds.

The facade of Dromoland Castle, covered in red ivy, overlooking a formal garden with manicured hedges, a small fountain, and a pond.

A scenic walking path lined with tall trees, leading to a classical stone gazebo on the grounds of Dromoland Castle, Ireland.

Back to the Future Day!

So far, I felt transported back in time during my visit to Dromoland. However, I was soon whisked back to the present and a nostalgic look at the future on October 21, 2015 when a Delorean (minus the flux capacitor, of course) pulled up in front of the castle as a fun surprise on my work retreat.

The work retreat was for a group of Site Reliability Engineers and as you can imagine we immediately crowded around the car and channeled our inner Marty McFly. I know I wished I had 1.21 gigawatts of energy to enable me to see what the next 30 years might have in store. Imagine having a time machine at my disposal. Pure awesome!

A Homebase for Exploring University of Limerick

I got a true glimpse of the future during a work visit to the nearby University of Limerick (I actually do work on these business trips although as you can see work can be fun too!)

In this case, I got a glimpse of the future of computer science as we presented to a packed house of aspiring software engineers. After our talks, we ignored the rain and took a brief walk around campus across the Living Bridge over the Shannon and past the cheekily named White House.

Part of my part-time travel philosophy is to make the most of business travel no matter what the weather.

A long, curved pedestrian bridge crossing a river on the grounds of the University of Limerick in Ireland, surrounded by lush green trees.

A view of the white house on the University of Limerick Castle in Ireland, with a modern brown building in the background.

Time travel may not be possible (yet?!) but I love that fact that it’s possible to visit different periods of history all within a short drive from Dublin. Until we can actually build time machines out of Deloreans, this will have to do…