Renvyle House Hotel

Coastal Hotel and Award Winning Restaurant

"When Yeats was on his honeymoon he came to stay with us at Renvyle, a lovely sea-grey house in Connemara on the edge of the Atlantic at the extreme edge of Europe," said Oliver St. John Gogarty, poet, surgeon and owner of the historic Renvyle House Hotel.

That was in 1917, prior to that, this sea-grey house had a turbulent and troubled history, dating back to the days of the Pirate Queen, Grace O’Malley, in the 16th century. It’s believed that she lived in Renvyle Castle, the remains of which are just a short distance away. Cromwell ordered the castle to be demolished in the mid-17th century and a house was built on the site of the present Renvyle House shortly afterwards.

From the time it opened as a hotel in 1883, the Land League, the Famine, the Civil War and the First World War have all played a part in the house’s history. When Gogarty bought it, he used it as an escape from his life in Dublin and played host to impressive literary gatherings. However, it was burnt to the ground by Anti-Treaty Republicans in 1922, with many valuable articles lost.

Rebuilt as a hotel – with government compensation – the house was designed to retain as much of the character of the original as was possible. The Gogartys ran the hotel for some years but in 1953, it was bought by its present owners. And since then, Renvyle House Hotel was been a huge success story. Set on the edge of the Atlantic with its back to the mountains, it’s reached by a drive from Galway through the rugged and mysterious landscape of Connemara.

Inside, you’re greeted by the wonderful aroma of burning turf – there are two fires blazing in this cheerful and cosy entrance hall. And the rest of the house lives up to expectations. The 68 spacious and comfortable bedrooms are well designed, with rooms in both the old and newer areas. General Manager Ronnie Counihan is insistent that all materials are sourced in Ireland – wood is from Roundstone, the beautiful throws on the beds are Tipperary designed and made, bed linen is from Cork and carpets are Curragh. Bathrooms are tiled with magnificent Connemara marble. The library is comfortable and the adjoining conservatory is bright and sunny with large windows overlooking the deking and gardens outside.

Of course, one of the most important rooms in any hotel is the dining room. Although large, it has an intimate air, with comfortable window seats and soft chairs. Executive Eurotoque Chef Tim O’Sullivan has reigned supreme in the kitchen for some 20 years. He sources local produce to achieve wonderful meals, with the speciality being Connemara lamb. Imagination and flair are the trademarks of a great chef and Tim O’Sullivan’s recipes have both in buckets.

Seafood features strongly, as you’d expect, with crab, halibut, seabass and cod as well as local oysters and of course some of Graham Roberts’ delicious Connemara Smokehouse Salmon on the menu. We ate chilled Connemara oysters with spring onion and lemon grass dressing and pheasant and wild mushroom terrine, pineapple chutney, Cumberland sauce, apricot and raisin slice and Balsamic vinegar. For mains, it had to be rack of Connemara lamb, with pepperonata, black pudding stuffing and rosemary jus, a sublime meal, and fillet of seabass with ratatouille and yellow pepper dressing. There’s a large herb garden with as many herbs as any kitchen might require, winter and summer and a small orchard with plums, apples and pears.

If you need to walk off your meal – or work up a good appetite – there’s a range of outdoor pursuits in Renvyle. These include tennis, golf, a heated swimming pool in the summer months, croquet and lawn bowls. There’s trout fishing – and if you’re lucky enough to catch one, you may get to eat it for supper. A childrens’ playground has been innovatively planted with peas around the edges so that visitors can pick and east as they like. Walks around the grounds include the beautiful rose garden, the herb garden and the orchard.

Contact Details

To Contact a Member Directly, please click on the email or website below

Renvyle
Connemara
Co Galway
+353 (0) 95 43511
Email: info@renvyle.com
Web: www.renvyle.com

 

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