Tranquil break on the old estate of Ballynahinch Castle in Connemara

AT TIMES it is forgotten that business is about people and in Ballynahinch this is very much the case. 

The O’Flaherty family do not own the property but it does feel as if they have made it their own. Their children were all born since they moved to the estate and they have created an enviable family life on the grounds of this 300-year-old castle. In all decent businesses people want you to leave happy, they work hard to make the business a success, a pleasant place to be, somewhere they are proud to work and that you are proud to say you have been. In Ballynahinch Castle this is beautifully so.

It is difficult to talk about my trip there without talking about the warm welcome from Patrick O’Flaherty, about the fly fishing tutorial from Cyril Biggins, about Patrick’s children gleefully showing us where they found the first chanterelles of the season and about chatting to Cliona, Patrick’s wife, about her children’s cooking project. These things make a good business great and make a nice trip to West Connemara a memorable one that you want to repeat again and again.