Those looking for hip holiday rentals have never had it so good, for Irish holiday home accommodation offers plenty of interior and exterior ideas to bring home as souvenirs.
Gather round and start planning getting away with either friends or family, and use your time there to decide if you like the layouts and furnishings enough to try them at home.
Here’s 10 to book this summer.
FAMILY & FRIENDS
1.PASTORAL PLEASURE DOME
Buttercup Hill sits high above the surrounding lush pasture of this corner of north east Kilkenny. Near the Carlow border, in the townland of Griffinstown, north of Graiguenamanagh, this cedar-clad, architect-designed barn-like home has a curved glass wall that floods its double-height living spaces with light. Overhead there are exposed oak beams under a pitched roof and natural timber in the other spaces. It sleeps eight in its four bedrooms, three of which are doubles and the fourth is a twin. Situated down a country lane and boasting Blackstairs Mountain views from many of its windows it costs about €2,150 for a three-night stay through the summer. Plum Guide. plumguide.com
2.ROOMS WITH A VIEW
Overlooking Kenmare Bay, facing south across the water, Beechlawn, in Cappanacush, Co Kerry, is situated on the edge of its dark sky reserve so there's a telescope to help you stargaze at night. A broken plan living area with bi-fold doors opening out to a deck, means you can drink in the views during the longer hours of daylight. It has a cool tiled and painted chimneybreast that is an easy idea to try. Three nights costs € 1,048 until the end of May. Minimum stay in June is five nights costing € 1,289, and a week in July/August (€2,750). It sleeps up to seven in its two doubles, one of which has an ensuite with separate bath and shower, twin room and large single. Trek the 10k Lomanagh walk. dreamireland.com
3.GOLF CLUB COOL
This contemporary take on the Kerry cottage is one of five similar-style homes within a gated development on the Ring of Kerry, within a stone's throw of Dooks Beach. Golfers will love the fact that it overlooks the second green of one of Ireland's oldest and most challenging links golf courses. Noisephobes should know that the course is also home to the native and protected natterjack toad, whose loud mating call is pretty distinctive. This home is perfect for two families to share. It sleeps eight in its four bedrooms, two doubles and two bunk rooms. Nearby is the seven kilometre-long sandspit that is Rossbeigh Strand. Glenbeigh is the nearest village, a distance of 5.5km. It costs €1,350 for a three night weekend/minimum stay a week in July/August (€2,650). uniqueirishhomes.ie
4. A LESSON IN GOOD TASTE
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Cove Lodge is a really special schoolhouse conversion on the beach in Waterford. Its owners have factored in traditional Irish décor such as a half door but use it internally to access the accommodation wing rather than as a front door. Soft coral colours the main bedroom walls with very cool clapboard panelled accommodation under the eaves. It is situated just outside Stradbally where you can walk to the pub and/or shop. The Copper Coast greenway is a short cycle away. It sleeps six in its two doubles and a bunk room and costs €1,100 for a three night stay in May/minimum stay a week in July/August (€2,600). uniqueirishhomes.ie
5. SHORESIDE CHALET CHIC
Walden Lakehouse on the shores of Lough Ree, the Shannon's middle lake, is a timber chalet that wows. The waves of the lake lap at its deck and its mid-century sensibility and woodland setting so charmed the architect judges of Home of the Year that it won the title in 2016. Owned by interior designer Egon Walesch and his partner Richard Goodwin, it sleeps four in its two bedrooms, so would suit two couples, and costs £1,095 (€1,304) for a three-night break in May, rising to £3,095 for a week in July/August. uniquehomestays.com
6. PICTURESQUE WITH A SIMPLE NORDIC PALETTE
This brilliant white building is a sleek seaside escape. Riverbend is a very modern beach bungalow with views of the Mahon estuary in Co Waterford. Situated on the waterway's final reach, it is just 200 metres from the dunes. Luxurious and spacious, a short stroll to the village, it channels lots of blonde wood and white walls in a simple Nordic sensibility. It costs €1,800 for a weekend out of season/€2,800 for a week from May-August. uniqueirishhomes.com
7. WILD SWIMMING ON YOUR DOORSTEP
Set on 30 acres, Ballymacooda House is about an eight-kilometre drive from Enn. Pis and about 30 minutes from Shannon Airport. It's a contemporary build situated almost on the shores of a lake, where there is a jetty from where you can kayak or wild swim to your heart's content. Inside, the views from its large picture windows are restful with lots of sky overhead, for this is the west of Ireland. It sleeps six in its three bedrooms, with main bedroom ensuite, and costs €1,100. uniqueirishhomes.com
SECLUDED SPOTS FOR TWO
8. TRADITION WITH A TWIST
Situated up on the hill overlooking a lake, the vernacular style Limehouse Cottage, outside Glenbeigh, Co Kerry, channels Ireland's traditional house style in a fresh way. It comes with a chartreuse green kitchen, whitewashed walls and a corner window in the living room to watch the clouds skudding across the sky. Cosy up to its fire pit and soak in a outdoor bath under a starlit canopy. While pet-friendly for up to two well-behaved dogs, canines must be kept on a leash when out on walks, as this is serious sheep country with lots of lambs frolicking about the fields. It costs about €1,715 for a three-night weekend stay in May or June, or about €2,500 for three nights in July/August. uniquehomestays.com
9.THE COACH HOUSE, CLARECASTLE, CO CLARE
This is a romantic little place for two, with exposed stone walls, polished timber floorboards and is a masterclass in compact living. The bedroom is up at mezzanine level, so floating above the double height space, and there are pastoral views from the small sash window upstairs. The price for three nights till the end of May is €695, increasing to €850 from then until the end of August. dreamireland.com
10. GOTHIC ROMANCE
Escape the everyday with an Insta-appealing short break within an hour’s drive of Dublin. Batty Langley Lodge in Leixlip, is a seven pinnacle folly designed to be viewed from the river walk, and is part of Palladian mansion Carton House’s landscaping. While close to Dublin city, its Gothic look feels far, far away from busy working life. The bedroom is a mix of antique furnishings, bare cut stone walls, rose-style windows. It costs €421 for three nights in May, increasing to €533 in July/August. irishlandmark.com
