West Cork village welcomes return of bar and eatery

Chef Joseph Quane with owners John Culloty and Niamh O’Sullivan, their children Niall and Cara, and manager Hazel Cullinane.

In a case of swinging doors, a tiny West Cork seaside community this week welcomed the reopening of the doors of a bar and restaurant after two years in the dark — while at the same time it rallied to stop the possible closure of the doors of its local creamery branch.

On a scenic stretch of the Wild Atlantic Way, Ardfield village’s Mountain House Bar and restaurant had a jam-packed “soft, locals-only opening” at the weekend: From today it starts a slow roll out of its food offering — just in time for the passing right by its door this weekend of the West Cork Rally — with plans to ramp up fully in April for the upcoming hospitality season.

Behind the energetic investment at Ardfield’s Mountain House venture are a young family, Castleisland-born John Culloty, a project manager in medical devices sphere and his wife Niamh O’Sullivan with Union Hall and Bishopstown family links, along with their two young children, Cara, five, and Niall, almost two, “and he’ll be the first on the barred list,” jokes John of their smallest handful.

Mountain House, Ardfield, Co Cork.

Coming on board on the cooking end is Joseph Quane, a finalist in the Euro-Toques Young Chef of the Year 2025, from Coachford, returning to be closer to home from Dublin’s Allta restaurant.

The first food offering from today is cheese/charcuterie boards, with a full higher-end menu including homemade pastas and stuffed ravioli and seafood starting in early April, with the 60-seat 3,500sq ft property being split into distinct restaurant and bar areas, with a separate bar food menu.

Given the capacity of the commercial kitchen, moves are also well advanced to provide hot school meals to three local schools under contract, it’s understood.

Enterprising and entrepreneurial Culloty and O’Sullivan (who has a master’s degree in community development) met while living in Galway, where the idea of taking on a bar/hospitality business first emerged. But, prices were just too high for both a premises and buying a home there, they say.

They moved to Clonakilty in 2022, buying a home from local builder and Mountain Bar owner Patrick O’Sullivan at The Miles and later doing a lease deal with him for the Ardfield premises.

Ironically, after remaining shuttered for two years, the Mountain House opens the very same week that the rural/coastal community met at nearby Rathbarry hall last night with Lisavaird Co-op board representatives to express alarm at reports that Lisavaird was considering closing three local co-op branches, including Ardfield’s.

Patrick O’Sullivan and his wife Carol had bought the Mountain House for a strong €700,000 in the slump and against the tide of confidence in rural bars even then. They renovated it and ran it as a family for a while, and later leased it to local siblings Caitriona and Mags Hegarty who also ran it very successfully, but who pulled back at the end of 2023.

After O’Sullivan’s house building wing took part of the property’s Mountain House site for detached houses, the premises was offered for sale or lease via Hodnett Forde with a €500,000 AMV. It got local, US, and Northern Ireland interest, and “John and Niamh were the best fit”, said estate agent Andy Donoghue of Hodnett Forde, who said it was taken “on a five-year lease on flexible terms”.

“Pubs aren’t working in lots of rural areas, but this part of West Cork is different, there’s the likes of O’Donovan’s Fishers Cross near us which is flying. People come out from Clonakilty and to places like Monk’s Lane in Timoleague for top food, we already have bookings for wedding second days, and will have the marquee up for the summer and the outdoor BBQ area going,” says Mr Culloty, with openings planned from Thursdays to Sundays, and Wednesdays to Sundays in high season.

Along with upper end food, there’s a novel six wine taps, Mountain House ale and craft lager as well as mainstream beers, “Beamish and a drop” of local Clonakilty distillery whiskey for €10, “and Cara’s planning on opening a lemonade stall,” say the new hands behind the bar.

Meanwhile, also set to follow in similar footsteps in Clonakilty town is a new restaurant, The Nest, in the former Indulge/Mio’s first floor premises on Connolly St in a lease deal agreed via Hodnett Forde.

Aiming to open in late April, operators Arpita Pandey with a hospitality background and partner Arthur Davis Ryan with a construction background and from Baltimore say the emphasis will be on locally-sourced European and seafood dishes at a “pocket-worthy” price level.

DETAILS: Hodnett Forde 023-8833367, Instagram: @themountainhouse1