Sheedy’s

Guests arrive to tea, home-made biscuits and ‘a warm welcome’ at this ‘excellent’ family-run 18th-century country house near the Burren, where John and Martina Sheedy combine fine cooking (him) and a charming efficiency (her) to create their characterful retreat. Check in to one of the ‘spacious’, elegant bedrooms, each stocked with cookies, up-to-date magazines, bathrobes and slippers; for extra space, choose a junior suite with a large seating area. ‘A feeling of well-being descends as you sit in the conservatory with a pre-dinner drink.’ In the jaunty, tartan-floored restaurant, John Sheedy’s ‘formidable’, French-inspired dishes – perhaps warm tart of St Tola goat’s cheese, caramelised onions, figs – use herbs and vegetables from the hotel’s garden, along with ‘quality’ ingredients from local farmers, fishermen, crofters and foragers. Informal meals, Irish whiskies and craft beers may be taken by the fire in the ‘cosy’, rustic bar. In the morning, wake to leaf teas and filter coffee; home-made jams, marmalades and breads; organic porridge served with Baileys. Tuck in, then ask the hosts for a map and head out into the dramatic scenery that surrounds. (AW)