Ireland's art hotels: escape into some of our country's cultural collections
Of Kenmare, Owner Park A Meehan, Bryan Scully Sean Hotel With Original
Hotels and art make easy bedfellows; both providing, in their own way, a respite from the daily drudge and an opportunity to enter a new landscape that refreshes the soul and sparks conversation.
It’s no surprise, then, that some Irish hoteliers have embraced art as a way to enhance their businesses, with a carefully curated selection of canvases, sculptures, and prints bestowing a singular ambience that inspires, provokes, stimulates, and comforts.
While an art gallery can sometimes seem like a rarefied space, a hotel, no matter how exclusive, always has that warm, welcoming vibe, providing the pitch-perfect environment in which to view art.
So when no gallery is nearby, or perhaps seems a little intimidating, here are some of Ireland’s hotels, located far from the madding crowd, that have awesome art collections waiting to be enjoyed from the moment you walk through their doors, be it for a casual cuppa or a sumptuous staycation.
It’s all about the vibes these days and Dunmore House Hotel, loftily perched in the lush landscape over Clonakilty Bay, has them in spades.
The views from the massive picture windows are jaw-dropping, while the interiors juxtapose the outside-in beachy feel with the province’s finest collection of prints and paintings outside of the Crawford.
In 1989, a wedding present of a Maurice Desmond painting to Dunmore House’s owners, Richard and Carol Barrett, became the catalyst for the extensive art collection, which now reads like a who’s who of Irish artists, featuring such luminaries as Mick Mulcahy, Simon English, and Sean McSweeney, with a full set of Tony O’Malley limited-edition carborundum prints, along with a number of his original works, the mainstay of the eclectic array.
The art extends to the 30 bedrooms, which all have handmade furnishings in native Irish woods, cashmere rugs, and organic toiletries from Sligo-based Voya.
- One night B&B for two sharing, from €200.
- dunmorehousehotel.ie
Ballyfin was voted the top resort hotel in Ireland and UK in the recent Travel+Leisure Awards, which noted the “breathtaking surroundings” of the neoclassical mansion.
The beautifully restored interiors are equally gasp-inducing and showcase the hotel’s remarkable collection of Irish art, which spans the mid-17th century to today.
It’s everywhere you look: from the elegant sweep of the Portland stone staircase, hung with magnificent portraits of the Cootes, aristocrats and builders of Ballyfin; to the bedrooms and staterooms showcasing schools of Irish art from the 18th and 19th centuries; to the Wellesley-Pole wing, where modern works from masters such as Louis le Brocquy and Mainie Jellett shine in a simpler setting.
Ballyfin is gloriously exclusive, so it’s not possible to just drop in, but that’s part of its charm. If you stay, chances are you’ve spent weeks in delicious anticipation of what is the last word in luxury and five-star fabulousness (ask a certain Kardashian who honeymooned here a decade ago) but, as with all hotels of this pedigree, the welcome couldn’t be warmer.
The rooms are exquisite — the Tapestry Room is one of the house’s most atmospheric — while the stripy sofas of the scarlet-hued bar make the perfect spot for a creamy pint under the Michael Farrell work, Van Gogh painting at Arles. An artist within the art. Very meta.
- Gourmet Escape Experience midweek (B&B, lunch, pre-dinner drink and gourmet dinner), from €825 (single occupancy); from €1,120 (two sharing, Classic room).
- ballyfin.com
Kelly’s, which launched as a seaside tea rooms in 1895, has constantly evolved throughout the decades, powered by the foresight and dedication of successive
generations of the eponymous family behind the Co Wexford hotel.
There’s always something new at this four-star beachside property, whether it’s the glass-walled Sea Rooms with their magnificent maritime views, where Chris Fullam’s seasonal menus maximise the hotel’s kitchen garden produce; the sublime thalassotherapy-centric SeaSpa; or the stupendous art collection that graces every available inch of wall space.
Today, the collection of modern and contemporary art — which grew from an Arts Council scheme and Breda Kelly’s purchase of 22 works in 1978 — would rival that of any gallery, such is its scope and importance.
There’s a Warhol screenprint of Debbie Harry in the Ivy Room; a huge Elizabeth Cope, Russian Mythology, hangs by the pool; wander further and you may encounter Basil Blackshaw’s dynamic oil, The Bay Filly, Brian Bourke’s vibrant Andalusian Olive Trees with Fireworks or Camille Souter’s sublime Cod.
The gardens continue the art theme with sculpture pieces by Rowan Gillespie and Anthony Scott (proving art is truly for everyone — kids can often be seen hanging out of them). Even the crockery is art, designed by abstract artist and ex-Virgin Prune, Guggi.
It’s evident this valuable collection grew not from a desire for canny investments but rather out of a passion for the works themselves. Indeed, in For the Love of Art, a book cataloguing the hotel’s collection, Bill Kelly notes, “with all the art taken down and the walls just newly painted” — Kelly’s was closed for its annual staff break — “it felt as if the hotel had lost its soul”.
Not a chance. With the annual Wexford Festival Opera just passed at the end of October, there’s been a lot of soul nourishment in the Model County. That Warhol is waiting for its 15 minutes.
- From €185 per person for midweek stays (including dinner, B&B, and afternoon tea).
- kellys.ie
The former home of the McCalmonts is probably better known for its golf (the Jack Nicklaus-designed course has hosted many prestigious tournaments) and its food (the Michelin-starred Lady Helen) than its art but the exquisite interiors of the restored manor house are made all the more dazzling by the many art pieces that further enhance the five-star setting.
The lobby features a triptych of pastoral murals by Michael Dillon that provide the perfect introduction to the opulent interiors, while the Tetrach Lounge and the Parlour feature the Herring Collection, equestrian-themed paintings by an artist widely acknowledged as one of the best animal painters of the 19th century.
In recent years, the hotel’s partnership with Kilkenny’s Butler Gallery has seen works by Louis le Brocquy, Mildred Anne Butler, and Patrick Collins grace its walls, making these important pieces accessible to a wider audience. Best enjoyed with a glass of chilled Champagne, I think…
- B&B from €289 per person staying in Mount Juliet Estate’s Manor House with dinner in the Michelin-starred Lady Helen.
- mountjuliet.ie
The vertiginous cliffs aren’t the only iconic thing in this gloriously picturesque neck of the woods.
Inside the eponymous hotel, you’ll find artworks by celebrated 20th century artists, both Irish and international, which complement the regular trad sessions that happen in the bar and are an intrinsic part of life in Co Clare.
The art collection has an artists and writers thread running through it, from evocative monochrome shots by legendary photographer John Minihan (including a wonderful snap of writer Edna O’Brien, whom he photographed many times and called “a good egg”) to Colin Davidson’s compelling portraits — his study of actor Ciaran Hinds is particularly masterful. (In 2016, Davidson became one of the few illustrious to have painted an official portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II.)
Henry Morgan’s Burren landscapes light up the lobby of this boutique bolthole, which strikes the perfect balance between modernity and cosiness.
It’s the perfect base for bracing cliff walks, a spot of surfing in nearby Lahinch and a tipple and a few tunes in the bar as Glen Hansard and Bono’s likenesses look on.
- Rooms are sold on a room-only basis, prices from €120 per room.
- cliffsofmoherhotel.com
- Ballynahinch Castle, Co Galway, ballynahinch-castle.com
- Park Hotel, Co Kerry, parkkenmare.com
- The Culloden Estate, Co Down, cullodenestateandspa.com
- The Dean, Dublin, Cork, Galway, thedean.ie
- The Leinster, Dublin, theleinster.ie
- The Merrion, Dublin, merrionhotel.com
- The Montenotte Hotel, Cork, themontenottehotel.com