History hangs about Roderick and Helena Perceval’s Georgian mansion, approached via a drive through sheep-grazed parkland.

In the otherworldly limestone landscape of the Burren, with distant views across valley and mountain to Galway Bay, husband-and-wife team Simon Haden and Frederieke McMurray run their 18th-century manor house as an ‘absolutely top-rate hotel’.

From the Georgian steps of pale-pink Enniscoe House, take in the ‘enchanting view of Lough Conn shimmering through a break in the woods’.

‘Supremely comfortable in that unique Irish country house way’, this pink-washed Regency manor house on the shores of Ballinakill Bay continues to please, say Guide readers this year.

‘The wonderful views of Lough Corrib, combined with warm, easy-going hospitality, make this a place in which we could stay for ages.’

Peace and quiet surround the O’Hara family’s Georgian mansion, which stands in great expanses of woodland and pasture for sheep and red deer.

At the end of a mile-long drive through ‘an estate of great tranquillity and beauty’ stands Fred and Joanna Madden’s Italianate mansion.

‘Excellent all round.’ It is more than 50 years since farmer’s wife Myrtle Allen launched the modest restaurant that would burgeon into hotel, shop, café, cookery school and event space.

Approached up a long drive, this ‘beautifully maintained’ 18th-century country house stands in extensive grounds – ‘a delight tn the eye’.

The O’Hara family seat since 1858, this 18th-century house in ‘rolling countryside’ is run with ‘indomitable spirit’ by Warwick and Anne O’Hara.

Jolly flower baskets flank the bright red front door of this personable B&B on a quiet street in the centre of a historic port and fishing town.

‘Delightful hosts’ Julia and Paddy Foyle run their harbourside B&B with ‘generosity of spirit and a genuine interest in seeing guests happy’, Guide inspectors say.

‘Warm and charming in its small-scale grandeur’, the Egan family’s Georgian mansion sits amid a cereals farm in Tipperary countryside.

‘The Mustard Seed, with its great tradition of Irish hospitality, is in safe hands,’ says a Guide reader this year of a return visit to John Edward Joyce’s ‘lovely, charming’ restaurant-with-rooms.

‘Positively flourishing’, the Leslie family’s sprawling estate has remained in the hands of its founding family for nearly three and a half centuries.

Come back to Martina and John Sheedy’s small hotel, after a windswept walk in ‘wonderful’ Burren countryside, to enjoy a quiet drink by the fire or in the sunroom overlooking the rose garden – it’s the small touches that make the place.

In ‘cleverly designed, well-maintained gardens’ on the outskirts of town, Beryl and James Kearney’s Georgian mansion has ‘uninterrupted views’ of the surrounding land, and a ‘cheerful ambience’ within.

Built of granite cut from the surrounding Blackstairs mountains, Bobbie Smith’s 19th-century rectory is ‘cosy, comfortable and spotless’, report contented Guide readers this year.

‘It is dramatically beautiful here, and totally tranquil.’

‘Chris and Jenny Mullen’s commitment to guests’ comfort and enjoyment is hard to match’ at this personable, family-friendly B&B on the Mourne Coastal Route.

In a swaddle of green grounds unravelling towards the River Lagan, John and Louise Mathers are the ‘personable, totally customer-centred’ hosts of this ‘remarkable’ guest house.

‘Stylish, comfortable and attractively priced’, Una and Dermot Brennan’s family-run boutique hotel puts the emphasis on a ‘warm, friendly’ Kerry welcome.

There’s a ‘relaxed atmosphere’ and ‘a sense of lightness and warmth’ at Sheila Griffin’s ‘characterful’ B&B, in a heritage town between the Atlantic and the Twelve Bens.

Drive through green countryside to come to this peaceful, family-run B&B steeped in centuries-old history.