The creation of the building is a thoroughly fascinating tale. An inscription in ornate Gothic lettering on the south front of the hotel reads ‘This goodly house was erected by William Henry, Earl of Dunraven, and Caroline his Countess without borrowing, selling or leaving a debt’.

The Earl appeared to be a remarkable man, a graduate of Trinity and a Member of Parliament with a special concern for Religious education. This interest led to the creation of 2 catholic schools in Adare and thus very strong community ties for the Earl. These ties were particularly strengthened by the construction of the manor as the famine stricken townspeople became gainfully employed in its building. The Earl and his wife had been living in a Georgian house built in the 1720's by Valentine Quin, grandfather of the first Earl.

As a young man the Earl was a keen participator in many typical country pursuits, such as shooting and fishing, but as middle age approached he found himself a victim of gout, and its crippling disabilities put paid to the more leisurely physical activities so commonly enjoyed by the landed gentry. It is regarded that during this time he developed an interest in architecture to try and occupy his mind and Lady Caroline set him the rather grand task of designing a new home for the couple—quite a project for a hobby. The story often implies that the Earl alone was responsible for a large portion of the manor’s design but on closer inspection history reveals that an architect named James Pain had a huge involvement in the drawings. He and his brother, George Richard, had previously worked on such projects as Mitchelstown Castle, an obvious influence on Adare Manor.

Indeed drawings have been found with Pain’s signature on them, and considering the Dunravens weren’t present for 2 years of the property’s construction it seems unimaginable that they would have left the construction in the hands of anyone other than a trained architect. The truth is probably that Pain assisted the Earl in realising the ideas he may have had but that Pain oversaw the more practical affairs of the design. The construction itself was supervised by a talented mason called James Connolly.