LORNA SIGGINS visits the ultimate eco-friendly get-away-from-it-all destination in Galway while, below, MIRIAM DONOHOEopts for the five-star comforts of a sumptuous hotel in the city
IF YOU ARE really looking to get away from it all, Cnoc Suain, out the road from Galway near Spidéal, offers a little magic and a lot of tranquility with a commanding view of Galway Bay.
Dearbhaill Standún, a musician, and Charlie Troy, a geologist and botanist, restored the pre-Famine clachan, or hamlet, discovered here to develop a peaceful cultural centre.
The couple’s concept was to develop a cultural focus but without the shamrock-and-top-o’-the-morning version of Irish national identity.
In 2007 Cnoc Suain won a Connemara heritage award, and it has been selected by the Ecoescape website of eco-friendly holidays – in which our columnist Catherine Mack plays a key role – as one of Ireland’s top green destinations.
It offers residential and non-residential programmes in specific activities (see panel) such as organic gardening and Irish.
Owned previously by one family from the late 17th century, the 80-hectare holding on the link road between an Spidéal and Moycullen has its own lake, “cnoc a locha”, with an islet resembling a crannóg, or lake dwelling.
The couple began their restoration with the family dwelling, or sean teach, and employed a master thatcher from Bunratty Folk Park to return the roof to the style of the region.
Blue Bangor slates recovered from a church in Aughrim were used to roof a separate stone building, modelled on an old school house that is now a focal point for their activities.
They then began reconstructing the original stone cottage and outhouses in the baile íochtar, or lower village, not only thatching and stone-setting, but also installing underfloor geothermal heating. They also fitted it with electrified old oil lamps, or glóba lampa, similar to those their parents’ generation would have grown up with.
On the afternoon I visited, Michael Gibbons, an archaeologist, and Sean Barrett, a local historian and author from neighbouring Baile an tSagairt, were there. Neither had met the other before, but Gibbons had spoken of the importance of Barrett’s self-published work, The Miracles of the Enchanted Island, as a piece of oral history in a talk he gave at Harvard University late last year.
Barrett set up a handmade loom to show how the crios, or woollen belt, from Connemara and the Aran Islands was woven. He made it seem effortless as he threaded the wool through with one hand, keeping tension with the other on the mathematical design. Like Aran jumpers, individual belts could identify a fisherman drowned at sea if the body was recovered, he told us.
He showed us how to construct a wooden trap for small animals and birds, and how to judge the age of a piece of Scots pine and its record of weather and climate change from its distinctive tree rings.
Gibbons walked us up to a standing stone by the farm’s highest point to paint a picture of the landscape’s rich history. As we looked out over Galway Bay, and back across the heath to the distant shadow of the Connemara mountains, he spoke of vast population movements, as confirmed by his own findings.
The conversation continued indoors over coffee and scones, and then we were invited to the “pub” to hear Standún making music with her Dordan colleagues Mary Bergin, on tin whistle and flute, and Kathleen Loughnane, on harp.
Orla Ní Fhinneadha, a sean-nós singer from Indreabhán, arrived with her father, Jimmy, and delivered moving renditions of Na Páipéir dhá Saighneáil and Pota Mór Fataí.
Sun had set as we ate dinner and Standún and Troy spoke of their future plans for the project. Troy, who used to supply fresh herbs to restaurants along the west coast, is developing a field laboratory with the support of the Irish Peatland Conservation Centre. It will reflect the flora and fauna of the blanket bog and Connemara shoreline.
Go learn
** Cnoc Suain caters for half-day tours from Galway city. It also offers various cultural packages, residential and non-residential, from March to November.
** Courses for this season include:
** Gaeilge Bheo, and without tears! Renew your Irish with linguist Nóirín Ní Nuadháin from May 15th to 17th, July 3rd to 5th or September 18th to 20th.
** Traditional Growing and Forgotten Skills – a step-by-step approach to traditional growing with Cait Curran from May 1st to 3rd , June 19th to 21st or July 10th to 12th.
** Three individual organic gardening days - Propagation from Seeds and Cuttings on May 5th, Composting and Green Manures on June 9th and Protected Cropping on July 7th.
** A unique window into Ireland’s ancient culture, with leading archaeologist Michael Gibbons, from July 17th to 19th or August 14th to 16th.
** The weekend fee of €375-€415 includes accommodation, all meals, tuition, talks and entertainment.
** Cnoc Suain, An Spidéal, Galway, 091-555703, www.cnocsuain.com
'I still miss the bath with the telly overhead'
I AM A country-house-hotel type of girl myself. My ideal weekend away involves a roaring log fire, antique-filled rooms, a four-poster bed and rambling walks. Maybe my age is beginning to tell, but nothing loud or in-your-face for me these days, thank you very much. So when I was invited to spend a weekend at the G Hotel in Galway I accepted with a mixture of trepidation and curiosity.
All I knew about the five-star G, which has been the talk of Ireland since it opened, in 2006, is that it was designed by the milliner to the stars, Philip Treacy, is the ultimate in cool and has been named one of the top three hotels in the world for ambience and design by Condé Nast Traveller magazine.
But this was enough to suggest that the G might be a far cry from my preferred weekend break. More niggling doubts arose when a friend advised me to bring my sunglasses. “What? Sunglasses? Surely you mean my coat and umbrella?” I asked, having checked the weather forecast
in advance. “Oh, you will see what I mean when you get there,” she smirked.
We arrived at the G on a busy Friday evening. Confusion about parking added to the end-of-week crankiness that set in on the long drive from Dublin. The G loomed on the right on the old Dublin road into Galway. It wasn’t made clear that we could have driven to the entrance and have the car parked for us; we eventually found the underground car park behind the hotel, which is part of the Wellpark retail area. (It is located beside the award-winning Eye cinema complex.)
But a saving grace was that the front of the hotel overlooks Lough Atalia and spectacular Galway Bay.
A tank of Connemara-bred seahorses greeted us in the black marble lobby, which was dark and dimly lit. Staff were warm and friendly, and we were checked in in no time.
We were then treated to the flamboyance for which the G is renowned. Three themed lounges on the ground floor all led into each other, linked by a raspberry-coloured carpet. The Grand Salon was the most subtle, with white and taupe colours, and masses of huge glass baubles hanging from the ceiling. Hmm . . . This isn’t so loud . . . I could cope with this, I thought.
This lounge led to the Pink Salon, and then it clicked why the sunglasses would come in handy. It shouted disco chic, with purple sofas, psychedelic pink chairs and a swirling white-and-black carpet.
The third adjoining salon was the Blue Lounge – a bit more sombre and male – leading into the wine bar, where we had some lovely pre-dinner cocktails later on in the evening.
Feeling a little dizzy after our introduction to the ultimate in cool and chic, I looked forward to seeing our room.
We weren’t disappointed. Our junior suite was sensational, and a complete contrast from the funky ground floor. A haven. Oh, yes, this was more my type of place.
The room was decorated in soothing cream and coffee. The gigantic bed had crisp linens. And the bathroom, with its free-standing tub in the centre, built-in flat-screen TV in the wall, and showers built for two.
Treacy’s special touches were evident everywhere in the hotel, from the bespoke concierge wall in the lobby to the artwork in every room. Wallpaper and lighting and art are all inspired by the landscapes and heritage of Co Galway, yet it managed to be contemporary.
People-watching is fun in the G, and we decided to brave the Pink Room for a drink before joining friends in the wine bar before dinner. Warning: dress up when you are having a drink in the G, as it seemed that all of Ireland’s bright and beautiful young things were collected here.
The approach to design in the restaurant was carried through with banquettes in deep-purple velvet.
It offered a contemporary menu under the stewardship of award-winning chef Stefan Matz. We couldn’t fault the meal.
The real highlight of the weekend was the spa, set in a zen garden with several treatment rooms, beauty suites and a therapeutic black-stone tranquillity pool. One massage and facial later and I was transformed.
The G is clearly a popular destination for young couples. At the height of the boom, it is quite likely that the corridors and lounges were full of people who were doing all right. As recession bites, the challenge for the hotel is to present itself as somewhere that you can still afford to go to for a bit of indulgence and spoiling without breaking the bank.
So what does the G Hotel experience amount to? It’s not your average city hotel, for sure, and the decor takes a bit of getting used to. It’s vibrant and energetic – the service is top notch, and there can be no complaint with the food.
By Sunday I was won over by the G Hotel chic and no longer hankered after country-house-style drawing rooms. The colours that had caused such a shock to the system on arrival on the Friday evening had mellowed. Sitting in the Grand Salon over a coffee and a newspaper before departure, I thought to myself, I could get used to this. I even felt like one of the cool people. And I still miss the bath with the telly overhead.
** G Hotel, Wellpark, Galway, 091-865200, www.theghotel.ie. The G has a three-night deal costing €340 per couple, including breakfast, until June 30th. It also offers packages for the Volvo Ocean Race. Between May 22nd and June 6th, two nights’ BB, a three-course dinner in the Matz and a visit to the spa costs €445