Butler, bring me my Lego

Nothing is too much trouble at County Mayo’s luxurious Ashford Castle, Shân Ross discovers

With the Irish tricolour flying from its battlements and the crest of the once-powerful entrepreneurial Guinness family carved into its stonework, Ashford Castle on the shore of Lough Corrib in County Mayo is the embodiment of the country’s turbulent past defending itself against invaders over eight centuries.

The 13th-century castle, in the village of Cong, (population 148) which was bought by the brewing dynasty in 1852 and in recent years had fallen into disrepair, is now breathing fresh life into the surrounding villages and towns, by providing employment for communities in the west of Ireland.

Testament to this is that in 2015, the castle, set in 350 acres of woodland, and now a five-star hotel, was voted the best hotel in the world by Virtuoso, one of the travel industry’s leading luxury networks.

Ask any of the staff about its recent renaissance and they will reel off a list of famous guests ranging from Hollywood A-listers such as Russell Crowe, Brad Pitt and Scarlett Johansson, to Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Billy Connolly, and world statesmen such as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

But it was the Academy Awardwinning film The Quiet Man (1952),

directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne and Maureen O’hara, which put Ashford Castle and Cong on the map for film buffs worldwide.

Wayne starred as a retired Irishamerican boxer who buys the cottage where he was born and marries a local woman after much drama.

The imminent arrival of the film stars and their entourage is deemed to be why Cong had electricity put in before many other places in Ireland.

It was over six decades later, in 2013, that fellow Americans, Beatrice and Stanley Tollman of the familyowned and run Red Carnation Hotel Collection, bought the run-down castle, which had been operating as a hotel since 1939, for £17.6m and spent a further £66m restoring it to its former glory, and then some.

Irish craftsmen and artists were recruited to create 77 rooms, five suites, and the romantic Hideaway Cottage, once the boathouse. All have views of either Lough Corrib or the River Cong, are furnished with antiques and works of art and have bathrooms stocked with organic Voya toiletries from County Sligo.

Guests arriving at the castle, which this year celebrates its 80th anniversary as a hotel, are greeted by the sight of two large stone statues of Irish wolfhounds forming a guard of honour at either side of the steps leading to the vaulted entrance hall.

Inside, the castle is sumptuous, breathtaking and stunning from its beautiful Waterford Crystal, Donegal Crystal and Murano glass chandeliers to the prominence it gives to Irish art and history such as a framed chart from 1929 detailing the differences in agricultural yield, livestock, fishing and employment between the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland.

There is much to explore from the Connaught Room, library, Prince of Wales bar, wine cellar, billiards room, cigar terrace, cinema, spa, gym, and the castle’s three restaurants – fine dining in the George V Dining Room (dinner jackets provided for men), The Dungeon (a more casual dining experience) and bistro fare at Cullen’s at the Cottage, not forgetting the American-style diner ‘Stanley’s’ named in honour of Mr Tollman.

The Lodge, in the castle grounds, has 38 rooms and 26 suites, offering a country house experience.

Activities include flying Harris hawks with instructors from Ireland’s School of Falconry, a history tour with resident historian Fintan O’gorman, a nine-hole golf course, tennis, fishing, kayaking, archery, clay target shooting, horse riding, cycling, off-road driving, zip-lining,

Clockwise from main: Ashford Castle’s dramatic setting; one of the bedrooms; a walk with the wolfhounds

tree climbing, a lake cruise on Lough Corrib on the MV Isle of Inisfree, children’s activities and a Lego set brought to your room by a butler. The ideal way to start the day, though, must be the morning forest walk with the castle’s real-life Irish wolfhound brothers Cronin and Garvin.

But what makes Ashford Castle special is the beauty of its setting by Lough Corrib and the value and respect given to staff, some of whom have had generations of their families working there.

Martin Gibbons, 63, from Cong, who has worked his way up to maître’d in the George V Dining Room, will celebrate 45 years at the castle this year. His grandfather was a gamekeeper there, when in 1905 the Prince of Wales, later King George V, visited. Two of Mr Gibbons’ sons also work at the castle.

“Families have generations working here. It means a lot to a small village like Cong. If I had my life to live over again, I would love to do the same again,” Mr Gibbons says. ■

A-list guests run from Sir Billy Connolly to Scarlett Johansson and Brad Pitt

For room rates at Ashford Castle (00 353 94 954 6003, email ashford@ asfordcastle.com) see www. ashfordcastle.com

Flybe (www.flybe.com) has flights

from Edinburgh to Knock up to six times a week, with fares from £31.99 each way including taxes and charges.