Hidden Ireland book reveals experience of staying in Irish country houses

Carol O’Callaghan meets the author and photographer behind a new book on Irish country houses that offer accommodation and hospitality to travellers looking for something different.

Living in an Irish stately home or country mansion might seem grand and romantic, but the costs of upkeep have forced many to sell up in the last hundred years or so, with only very few now remaining in the hands of descendants of their original owners.

Some that do remain, and others that are equally loved and nurtured by their new owners, are now featured in a book entitled Hidden Ireland, which charts the experience of what it’s like to stay as a paying guest in one of these houses, ranging from the grandest Palladian mansions, to charming, nook-filled rectories.