SLIGO, Ireland — Imagine the memories, growing up in an 18th-century Georgian Manor house: Big airy rooms, family portraits looking down from the walls, shelves of leather-bound books, the four-poster bed where your great-great-great-great-great grandfather slept and hundreds of woodland acres to play in.
If this is the year you’re visiting Ireland, find out whether you’re “to the manor born” by staying in one of these magnificent houses. Though most of Ireland’s Georgian houses, built by the Anglo-Irish gentry, disappeared over the decades or were remodeled beyond recognition, a few owner-occupied survivors are now bed-and-breakfast inns, open from May through October.
We stayed in two, picked from the “Blue Book of Irish Country Houses,” in Mayo and Sligo, two of Ireland’s most scenic and least visited counties. Both are listed historic properties.
At Coopershill House, off the main road 12 miles south of Sligo town, Lindy and Brian O’Hara, the seventh generation of O’Haras to own and occupy the house, an unusually long line for any Irish family, met us at the door.
“I suspect that they converted to Protestantism along time ago, probably to hang on to the house,” said Lindy, helping to carry the suitcases.
Coopershill, built in 1774, is a typical greystone Georgian. Rectangular, with three stories, it has symmetrical windows and fanlights over many of the doors. The outer entry, paved with stone, has a fireplace, racks for coats, tables and hunting trophies on the walls. Monumental inner doors are framed with neo-classical pillars and topped with imposing pediments.
Guests make themselves at home in the living room, furnished in typical manor house style: Couches and chairs upholstered in print fabrics and a bit worn, but surrounded by elegant antique chests, cabinets, small tables, long tables, side chairs, bookshelves, family photos and stacks of books, surmounted by gold-framed mirrors and family portraits. And yet the room doesn’t seem overcrowded.
Brian served cocktails and we joined the other guests — one couple came just for dinner — in front of the fireplace until 8:30 p.m., when Lindy announced dinner, a superb five-course meal, served in the very-formal dining room.
Each of the eight bedrooms is different, with canopy beds, quality linen, dressers, tables and private bathrooms. The house has 500 acres of woodlands and paths, plus a tennis court, croquet lawn and fishing in the Arrow River. Golf and boating on Lough Arrow is available.
If County Mayo is your destination, stay at Enniscoe House, 2.4 miles south of Crossmolina. Hidden from the road, the house stands on a small rise with views of Lough Conn, and across the lake, Mount Nephin.
Built in the early 18th century, Enniscoe’s owner, a Mr. Jackson, enlarged the house in the 1790s, doubling its size. At the same time, he began work on a large walled garden, the progenitor of today’s historic garden, considered one of Ireland’s finest.
Owners, Susan Kellett and D.J. Kellett, indirect descendants of the Jacksons, are actively involved in the garden restoration, and in historic preservation in general.
“Be sure to walk over and take a look,” said Susan, pointing us toward a gate in the wall. “There’s a local culture museum, too, and the Heritage Centre, created by the Irish Genealogical Project. If your ancestors are Irish, you’ll find them in their records.”
Like other Georgian houses, Enniscoe has a large front entry room, several living rooms, a dining room and six bedrooms upstairs. The living room, with deep sofas and chairs, is full of antiques and collectibles, with family heirlooms displayed on tables and bookcases.
Besides polished chests, side chairs and sideboards, there are portraits, framed watercolors, candlesticks, maps, stacks of books on gardens and architecture, grandfather and mantelpiece clocks, china figures, vases and Delft ware. A graceful oval staircase leads to the second floor and the guest rooms. Warm and inviting, they have four-poster beds made up with silky linens and piled with flowery quilts and fancy pillows. The bathrooms have both showers and oversized tubs.
Dinner is optional, but Enniscoe is known for fine cuisine. And, once you’re here, you really won’t want to search for a restaurant elsewhere. Five-course meals are served at 8 p.m., in the dining room, with candles, fine china and wine.
If you’re interested in a longer stay — to fish for trout, play golf, ride horseback or explore the byways — ask the Kelletts about their two- and three-bedroom apartments, with full kitchens, in the restored courtyard. It’s Irish country life at its best.
INCIDENTAL INTELLIGENCE:
Coopershill House, Riverstown, County Sligo, is open April 1 through Oct. 31. Children are welcome. Rates per person in low season (April, May, October) start at E99 for Bed & Breakfast; in high season, E111 for B&B. Light lunch is E9: Dinner, with cocktails and wine, is E50. Discounts apply to three- and six-day stays. Tel.: 353-71-9165108; e-mail ohara@coopershill.com; www.coopershill.com.
Enniscoe House, at Castlehill near Crossmolina, County Mayo, is open April 1 through Oct. 31. Children are welcome. Rates per person in low season, start at E88 for Bed & Breakfast, E130 for B&& plus dinner and wine. In high season, rates start at E96 and E138. Discounts apply to three- and six-night stays. Tel.: 353-96-31112; e-mail dj@enniscoe.com; www.enniscoe.com.
