Weekender

Lizzy Lyons’s Killarney

When we steal some precious family time

away from the grind, Killarney is one of our favourite places to play in the heart of the open skies.

Killarney Plaza Hotel welcomes us with a warm embrace every time we stay.

It offers the perfect balance of play for the kids and adult relaxation. It’s also just a stone’s throw from the National Park.

On arriving, my two boys act their age and my husband Arek forgets his in the swimming pool,

while I relax in the spa. We have Friday-night dinner in the lovely hotel bar, and wind down before the next morning of exploring.

After breakfast, where the boys love the pancake station,

Arek and I will grab a takeaway coffee from Reidy’s bar and cafe, before heading for a walk in the National Park. If you are lucky, you can spot the deer, and sometimes we take in a boat trip on the lake.

On Saturday night, we head to Danu Restaurant in the Brehon Hotel.

The food is second to none, and whatever it is about the atmosphere here, the boys never fight!

After a Sunday-morning splash in the pool,

and before heading home, we take the boys to Kennedys Pet Farm. Then, we stop in at the Europe Hotel’s Spa Cafe — they have lots of excellent healthy choices and a great kids’ menu, not to mention beautiful views of the lake and gardens. Lizzy Lyons of Lizzy’s Little Kitchen, Listowel, Co Kerry, appears at this year’s Taste of Dublin, which returns to the Iveagh Gardens from June 14 to June 17. Tickets from €15, available now, see tasteofdublin.ie