Guests' happiness is paramount for host John Edward Joyce at his characterful, eclectically furnished country house with charming bedrooms and exquisite but unstuffy fine dining in the Mustard Seed restaurant.

Verity Butterfield clearly loves to welcome guests to her loch-side Georgian house, with blazing fires, comfy sofas, good artworks, excellent breakfasts, and dinner by arrangement.

Guests find a warm welcome, good food and home comforts at John and Martini Sheedy's hotel and restaurant on the Wild Atlantic Way.

Beneath Slieve Foy Mountain, stepping distance from the sea and within walled gardens, the Carroll family's Georgian house affords views at every turn.

There is a house-party ambience at Justin and Jenny Green’s Georgian country house, filled with treasures passed down through generations, where produce from the kitchen garden and estate feature on the set dinner menu, and everything from bread and preserves to gin infusions is made in house.

A long, winding drive leads to Henry and Lucy Hodgson's country house on an estate on Lough Corrib, with its lakeside sauna, old-fashioned interiors, warm hospitality, and great home-cooked food.

Hannah and Paddy Flynn are welcoming hosts at their fabulous Palladian villa in native woodland, filled with heirlooms and auction finds, where guitar-strumming chef Paddy cooks a nightly menu, breakfast eggs are from the resident hens, and a library in the coach house is devoted to the study of civilisation.

Set on a 300-acre working farm, this legendary country-house hotel began life in 1964 as a restaurant run by farmer's wife Myrtle Allen, using produce from the farm and walled kitchen garden, and has grown into a thriving business, with cookery school, café and arts venue ,while keeping faith with its founding principles.

It may not be a castle but this rambling 18th-century manor house, wrapped in gardens and with views over the otherworldly karst landscape of the Burren, has its own romantic charm, a fine-dining restaurant,, modern comforts and an ambience of calm.

Overlooking Victorian gardens and the River Lee, this modern hotel has boutique bedrooms, luxury woodland and river suites, a nightly cinema screening, spa treatments, modern Irish menus and breathtaking views over the city from the Panorama Restaurant and terrace.

Ireland's only Michelin-starred pub is set within the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark, and offers uncluttered bedrooms with traditional charm, and exciting menus of seasonal produce based on sustainable gastronomy.