Christmas often arrives as a season of excess. Lists grow, rooms are rearranged to squeeze everyone in, and unexpected visitors drop by with appetites and goodwill, leaving behind crumpled paper and murky glasses. At a local restaurant, a manager told me how she and her husband stepped away from it all last year, flying to Provence and spending evenings in cafes. They came home feeling they had discovered a new texture for the season, just like the plot of The Holiday, where a temporary change of home and country rescued Christmas.
There’s another way to reimagine the season: a small, deliberate unmooring that feels like a reset. You don’t need to forsake Ireland’s misty mornings, long walks, or firelit evenings to find it. In the properties I’ve featured for guidebooks from Eyewitness to Fodor’s, some houses make a season feel unexpectedly renewed. In the right house, these elements gather naturally, especially in winter. There’s the Georgian diningroom aglow with nostalgia or hope at year’s end; a thatched bolthole in the woods; a lighthouse keeper’s cottage where the Atlantic keeps you company. These aren’t just places to stay but settings that make Christmas feel new again.
The pleasure lies in what happens once the door is closed: a fire burning deep into the night, a table where generations linger without quarrel, a frosted morning when the only sound is the tide on the quay. These houses won’t erase Christmases past, but they offer a chance to shape new traditions.
Mount Vernon
Flaggy Shore, Co Clare, H91 W8DV
Christmas at Mount Vernon arrives with Atlantic mist, the scent of salt in the air, and the glow of an open fire inside. Standing on the Flaggy Shore, the setting of Seamus Heaney’s poem Postscript, it is one of Ireland’s most storied holiday homes.
RM Block
Built in 1788 by William Persse, a friend of George Washington, the lodge is said to have received its three wall-garden Monterey cypress trees as a gift from Washington in return for Persse’s gardening advice for Mount Vernon, in Virginia. Later, the house became Lady Gregory’s Georgian escape, where Yeats and the literary-revival circle gathered at Christmas.
That sense of tradition endures. The drawingroom flickers with firelight, the diningroom invites a candlelit feast, and four bedrooms sleep up to eight in Georgian comfort. Outside, the Atlantic sets the winter rhythm, and a walk to Linnane’s Lobster Bar for seafood can easily become part of the ritual.
Rate €1,142 per night (minimum 5 nights). mountvernon.ie
Goggin Cottage
Kildimo, Co Limerick, V94 1R90
This restored thatched cottage near Adare in Co Limerick offers a quieter rhythm of Christmas. Thick stone walls hold in the warmth of a wood-burning stove and gentle underfloor heating, while books and board games invite long afternoons by the fire. A loft twin room for children, reached by a ladder, adds a sense of adventure, and a ground-floor double offers comfortable winter accommodation.
Winter walks through nearby Curraghchase Forest Park lead into open countryside, while a short drive brings the energy of Limerick city and its fabulous Milk Market Christmas stalls.
Rate €176 per night (minimum stay requirement). irishlandmark.com
Ardtarmon Castle
Ballinfull, Co Sligo, F91 KW88
Perched above Sligo Bay with Ben Bulben and Knocknarea in view, Ardtarmon Castle is a winter retreat with history and character. Its grounds slope to a private beach, perfect for bracing winter walks, while inside the restored apartments, wood-burning stoves and underfloor heating make for cosy evenings. At Christmas, two self-catering retreats welcome guests. Queen Luise, a turreted hideaway for two, features a king-size bed, en suite, dining area, and kitchen. Queen Maeve sleeps up to five, with sea views, a stove, and kitchen. Strandhill’s pubs are just a short stroll away, serving festive cheer.
Price range €185 to €300 (minimum stays required). ardtarmoncastle.com
Annes Grove Miniature Castle
Castletownroche, Co Cork, P51 X586
If Christmas has always felt like a fairy tale, Anne’s Grove Miniature Castle makes it real. This 1853 gate lodge, designed by Arts & Crafts architect Benjamin Woodward, is all Gothic-inspired crenellations, pointed arches, spiral staircases, and stone fireplaces. Inside, it sleeps two, but at Christmas, the compact rooms glow with candlelight, and the wood-burning stove makes winter evenings feel magical. For couples, it can feel like stepping into another world, where the festive season stretches and slows. Beyond the estate gates are Ballyhoura’s trails, and Doneraile Village’s cosy pubs.
Rate €176 per night (minimum stay requirement). irishlandmark.com
River Run Cottages
Terryglass, Co Tipperary, E45 KV07
In Terryglass, a charming village on the shores of Lough Derg, these cottages offer a more sociable kind of Christmas. Two of the cottages remain available across the festive week, each sleeping four, so families or groups of friends can travel together. The houses combine traditional character with sleek design, and guests can drop by Paddy’s Bar or book festive meals at The Derg Inn, rather than tackling cooking themselves. The village has a church, a shop, pubs, and a lakeside quay. Rates are €297 per night. riverrunhouse.ie
Roundstone Quay House
Roundstone, Co Galway, H91 X5KV
Roundstone is one of Ireland’s sweetest villages, and to wake on Christmas morning with a view of its harbour feels like something out of a Paul Henry painting. The Quay House is a four-bedroom townhouse that sleeps up to eight, restored with a mix of heritage detail and modern comfort. Its open-plan kitchen and living area overlook the sea, so the Atlantic becomes part of your holiday backdrop. A smaller unit is available next door. O’Dowd’s, one of Ireland’s great seafood pubs, is on the doorstep, and Dog’s Bay and Gurteen beaches are close enough for the annual festive walk.
Rates €320 a night. fernwood.eco
St John’s Point Lighthouse
Dunkineely, Co Donegal, F94 F5H6
There are Christmases made for noise and company, and there are Christmases made for solitude. St John’s Point Lighthouse belongs to the latter. The Irish Landmark Trust restored two keepers’ cottages here, each sleeping four to five guests, perched at the end of a long peninsula. Built in 1831, the lighthouse remains operational, its beam sweeping across the Atlantic in winter storms. Inside, open fires, simple furniture, and thick walls create a sense of retreat. For supplies, Killybegs is a short drive; for snowcapped drama, the Slieve League cliffs are unmatched.
Weekly rentals cost €1,500. irishlandmark.com
Inchiquin House
Corofin, Co Clare V95 X20N
If your Christmas gathering is multigenerational, with children, cousins, and grandparents, Inchiquin House in Corofin is designed for it. This Georgian mansion sits in a sprawling estate at the edge of the Burren, its 10-person capacity spread across elegant bedrooms and grand, fire-lit reception rooms. The kitchen and diningroom are big enough for roasts and puddings without stress. Nearby, Corofin Village offers pubs and trad music, while the Burren National Park is at the doorstep for long winter walks across limestone and frost.
Rates €737 per night (minimum stay requirement). irishlandmark.com
Ballybur Castle
Cuffesgrange, Co. Kilkenny, R95 H2P9
Ballybur Castle stands quietly above the Kilkenny countryside, its 16th-century stone walls holding centuries of stories. Once the seat of the Comerford clan, it now offers families and friends a chance to celebrate Christmas. The grand diningroom, framed by a medieval stone inglenook, seems made for candlelit feasts, while the oak-beamed drawingroom, with its chandelier, invites lingering evenings by the fire.
The castle sleeps up to ten guests across five bedrooms, with a Coach House available for extra guests. Outside, frosted lawns and panoramic views provide the backdrop for winter walks or a quiet moment with a warm cup of cocoa.
Rates €1,200 a night. ballyburcastle.com
