Our House

Built to our design in 2000, our house is warm, modern, roomy and comfortable. It is 2100 square feet (195 m²) in size, with five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen/dining room with utility room, and a large living room. The house has solid wood floors throughout, except the kitchen/dining room and bathrooms, which are tiled. It is well insulated and has underfloor heating controlled by thermostats.

The large master bedroom has a king-size bed, television, phone and a bathroom en-suite. Two of the other bedrooms are our childrens' rooms: one has a cot and the other has a safari theme including a jeep bed. One of the other bedrooms is currently being used as a playroom, and the other is used as a study, including a computer with broadband internet access. If you need, we can put beds into one or both.

Click on the images to enlarge them.

The kitchen/dining room is bright and airy with windows on three sides. It is fitted with all modern appliances: gas hob with extractor hood, electric oven, oil-fired range, fridge/freezer, coffee maker, CD player, etc. The utility room has a microwave oven, washing machine, dryer and dish washer.

The living room is spacious, with two couches and two armchairs, and beautiful cherry wood floors. It has an antique cast-iron fireplace in which you can burn logs and coal, to add to its cosy relaxing atmosphere. It is equipped with a television, FTA satellite and DVD player.

Since we live in a rural area, a car is essentail. We have two midsize saloons of similar size, a Renault Laguna and a Skoda Octavia. We are happy to exchange one or both.

The Location

The house is set in among native trees in a rural part of County Galway in the West of Ireland. At the front of the house, a shady copse gives us privacy from the road. The back is also secluded but has a large lawn for playing on, as well as flower beds and a vegtable patch.

It is 2 miles (3 km) from the village of Craughwell, 4 miles (6 km) from the ancient market town of Athenry (see www.athenry.net), and a 20-minute drive from the centre of Galway city (see www.galway.net). Our neighbours are pleasant and friendly, and would be able to help you if you had and questions. Our neighbours have children of various ages who are always happy to make new friends. We both have family living in Galway, and one of our brothers could meet you and drive you to the house.

The Galway Area

Galway is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Ireland. It is a university town with a population of about 60,000 and a well-deserved reputation for its cultural activities, particularly theatre and traditional Irish music. During the summer months, there is almost always some festival in progress, most notably the Galway Arts Festival at the end of July, the horse-racing festival in early August and the Oyster Festival in September.

For some photos of the city, visit www.galway.net/galwayguide/gallery.

Popular things to do in the area include:

• Golfing: there is a large number of golf courses in the area
• Horse riding: for beginners and experienced riders
• Hill walking: in the impressive and unspoilt mountainous area of Connemara to the west of Galway, where the Irish language is spoken natively
• Fishing: in lakes north of Galway or shore-angling from the coast of Clare south of Galway
• Shopping: Galway has lovely art galleries, bookshops, crafts shops and traditional knitwear shops. Don’t miss Kenny’s Bookshop and Gallery (www.kennys.ie) with its unbeatable collection of new and old books of Irish interest. Founded in 1941, it was also one of the world’s first shops to sell books online.
• Eating out: there is a great range of Irish and international restaurants in the city and around
• Cultural: there is a full programme of theatre and music in the Town Hall Theatre all year round. There are comedy clubs at the weekend in the city. Or you can just sit in a pub and listen to a traditional Irish music session any night.
• The Burren: a unique limestone area in Clare, south of Galway, famous for its rare flora
• Travel further: to Westport or Sligo, about an hour’s drive north, or even to Dublin, 2.5 hours’ drive to the east.

For more ideas on what to do in the area, see www.westireland.travel.ie and www.europeguidebook.com/ireland/, as well as www.athenry.net and www.galway.net.

About Us

We are a couple in our thirties, with two small children. Michael is a lecturer in the National University of Ireland, Galway. Martha cares for our two sons, Ruaidhri ("ROO-ree") who was born in November 2002, and Luke who will be one in March 2005.

We also have a computer-literate cat called Tiger. He's not allowed upstairs into the bedrooms as Michael is slightly allergic, so he shouldn't cause allergy sufferers problems. If you prefer, we can send him away to family on his holidays for your stay.