Go Ireland: With the new school year looming, a nanobreak could be just the thing to keep your mind off the return to routine, especially if you follow the golden rule of travelling early and returning late the next day. Alanna Gallagherhas some tempting offers that shouldn't break the bank
1 Romantic getawayAtmospheric Barberstown Castle, in Co Kildare, features a Norman keep that dates back to the 13th century, as well as Elizabethan and Victorian extensions. In addition to the architecture it has fine food, fabulous rooms and is just 40 minutes from Dublin – all the essential ingredients of a successful romantic getaway. Leave the kids behind and upgrade to the honeymoon or bridal suites (rooms 63 or 35) to really make your night away smoulder. After dinner, repair to the bar for a nightcap before retiring to a feather-topped four-poster bed. If you fancy trying out a local pub, Manzors, in nearby Clane, is the place to be. After you've checked out there are numerous distractions in the area, from shopping for bargains at Kildare Village to the adjacent Irish National Stud, where you can discover the history of Irish horse racing – enough to keep you on the road all afternoon.
Barberstown Castle, Straffan, Co Kildare, 01-6288157, www.barberstowncastle.ie. Bed, breakfast and dinner costs €129pps in a standard double room or €144 in a four-poster room.
2 Family citybreak
Newpark Hotel, on the outskirts of Kilkenny, is the perfect place for a citybreak with the children. On your doorstep, a five minute walk away, are the city’s main cultural landmarks, St Canice’s Cathedral and Kilkenny Castle, not to mention the city’s numerous pubs, restaurants and shops. For adults, the hotel offers leisure and spa facilities that include an outdoor hot tub. Until the end of the month (and again during midterm) children aged between three and 12 can follow a free activity schedule that starts at 10.30am and runs, with breaks, until 9.30pm. You won’t see your kids for dust, meaning you can get reacquainted with your other half.
Newpark Hotel, Castlecomer Road, Kilkenny, 056-7760500, www.flynnhotels.com. Bed, breakfast and dinner costs €69pps. Under-12s share your room free of charge; you only pay for their meals.
3 24-hour country escape
Coopershill Country House, in Co Sligo, is a Georgian home in the same family since 1774, when Arthur Cooper, the great-great-great-great-grandfather of the present owner, Simon O’Hara, took up residence. Already an established nanobreak destination with the smart set from Sligo and Ballina, it is also only two and a half hours by train from Connolly Station in Dublin. Set on 200 hectares, it has plenty to explore on foot, including the O’Haras’ herd of deer. The family also feeds wild barn owls, which should help keep under-12s occupied. Adults and older children might like to borrow the family’s bikes and visit the megalithic passage graves of Carrowkeel, a couple of kilometres down the road. The property also has good green credentials, including spring water flowing from every tap. Well-behaved children are welcome.
Coopershill House, Riverstown, Co Sligo, 071-9165108, www.coopershill.com. Bed, breakfast and gourmet dinner costs €159pps. Children from the ages of 12 to 16 pay 50 per cent; under-12s are free.
4 Theatrical setting
Ghan House is a 300-year-old Georgian pile on the edge of Carlingford Lough, looking out on to the Mourne Mountains. The Co Louth location offers great hillwalking and adventure activities, as well as ferry rides across the lough. The main house has four guest rooms; a more recent garden annex accommodates another eight bedrooms. On offer is gourmet food from chef Nick Wollhard, who has worked with Jean-Christophe Novelli, Paul Flynn of the Tannery and Conrad Gallagher.
Ghan House, Carlingford, Co Louth, 042-9373682,www.ghan house.com. Bed, breakfast and three-course candlelit dinner costs €130pps.
5 Bargainista break
The four-star Fitzwilton Hotel, in Waterford city, is bang on the money with its cheap chic offers. It has a limited-availability room-only offer of €29pps; or a double room for €99 for two, including breakfast and dinner. The hotel also has family rooms with a double and a single bed and the option of a fold-out bed for an additional child. These rooms cost from €116 per night. Under-14s stay free; you just pay for their meals. Take the kids to experience the nearby Suir Valley Railway, where a narrow-gauge steam locomotive runs along 12km of the abandoned Waterford-Dungarvan line.
Fitzwilton Hotel, Bridge Street, Waterford, 051-846900,www.fitzwiltonhotel.ie. Rooms from €29pps.
6 Date night
Belfast’s Merchant Hotel, set in a grade-one listed building, is best experienced
à deux
. Leave the kids and car at home and take the train: it’s a two and a half hour ride from Connolly Station in Dublin. Dine in style at the hotel’s Great Room restaurant, a marvellously extravagant Italianite room where a seasonal menu is served. And explore the extensive cocktail menu; in the talented hands of Sean Muldoon, the bar was recently named the world’s best hotel bar at the Tales of the Cocktail Festival in New Orleans. Ask for the mixologist’s latest creation, a whiskey and poitín confection blended with Co Armagh apple juice. After dinner, there is an enormous digestif list to investigate. Spend the next day shopping at some of the city’s great boutiques: Carter and Nine Chichester Street for her; the Bureau for him and Equinox for the home.
The Merchant Hotel, 35-39 Waring Street, Belfast, 048- 90234888, www.themerchant hotel.com. Bed, breakfast and dinner for two people sharing costs €207.
7 Island hop
Wexford is a great family destination, with the lure of the last of the summer strawberries, big sandy beaches and history lessons on every street corner. The Ferrycarrig Hotel has fantastic-value family rooms. Weather permitting, factor in a day trip to the Saltee Islands. Boats depart daily from about 10am from Kilmore Quay. Or explore the dunes of Curracloe Beach, scene of the Normandy landings in
Saving Private Ryan
. Back at base camp, Ferrycarrig offers a kids’ club that operates daily until the end of the month and then runs only at weekends. It is open to children aged between four and 12. On rainy days make history come alive with a visit to the Irish National Heritage Park, which depicts settlement in Ireland from 7000 BC to the Norman invasion.
Ferrycarrig Hotel, Wexford, 1890-516171, www.ferrycarrig hotel.ie. Family room with bed and breakfast for two adults and two children from €179 per night.
8 Calm in Carlow
Lorum Old Rectory, at Kilgreany in Bagnelstown, is a five-bedroomed granite-fronted house next to the River Barrow, with views of the Blackstairs Mountains. Chef-patron Bobbie Smith believes that repeat business is all about the personal touch. She will drive guests down to the Barrow towpath, where you can work up an appetite for dinner, also cooked by the multitasking Smith. She’s a member of Euro-Toques, the European Community of Cooks, and she and her family have built a reputation for imaginative home cooking that makes use of local and organic produce. Borris, a six-kilometre taxi ride away, is where you can explore character pubs such as Joyce’s and O’Shea’s. And if it ends up being a late one, Smith is very lenient about late check-out, making her nanobreak offering one of the best in terms of value-added service.
Lorum Old Rectory, Kilgreaney, Bagenalstown, Co Carlow, 059-9775282, www.lorum.com. Bed and breakfast costs from €75pps; dinner an extra €48.
9 Tour history
Drogheda, the gateway to the Boyne Valley, is fertile hunting ground for culture vultures. Take your kids on a whistle-stop tour of Irish history, starting with the Battle of the Boyne site. Give them a lesson in humility with a visit to St Peter’s Church, which holds the relic of Oliver Plunkett, who, www.catholic.org tells us, publicly forgave all those responsible for his death. His shrunken head, held behind a glass shrine, will delight and appal in equal measures. Afterwards, escape the gruesome past with a chichi stay at the stylish D, sister hotel to the G, in Galway, where children stay free. On the way home you could visit the impressive Brú na Bóinne visitor centre or, if the kids start a rebellion of their own, use the money you saved on the family room to fund a visit to Funtasia, in nearby Bettystown.
The D Hotel, Scotch Hall, Drogheda, Co Louth, 041- 9877700, www.thedhotel.com. Bed, breakfast and dinner costs from €55pps. A family offer of €198 includes two nights’ bed and breakfast with one dinner. Children are free. Offer includes children’s evening meal, milk and cookies at bedtime and a bottle of wine for mum and dad.
10 Capital delightsThe list of fun and interesting things for families to do in Dublin is endless. Explore the National Gallery of Ireland, the Science Gallery at Trinity College, the Chester Beatty Library at Dublin Castle, Kilmainham Gaol and the Irish Museum of Modern Art, then cross the Liffey to say hello to the tiger cubs at Dublin Zoo. The Viking Splash tour is another essential experience, but be sure to book seats online (www.vikingsplash.ie). The Jurys Inn on Custom House Quay is perfectly located for out-of-towners – and it has a bird's-eye view of Dublin's latest landmark-in-progress, the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava's astonishing bridge across the Liffey. Take a look at Irish Rail's family-ticket offers, which include transport for two adults and up to four children. This ticket is available only through booking offices. Also check the €10 adult and €5 child each-way fares, available from www.irishrail.ie or by calling 1850-366222.
Jurys Inn Custom House, Custom House Quay, Dublin 1, 01-8541500/6075000, www. jurysinn.com. Bed and breakfast costs €139 for two adults and two children.