Haven't yet decided where to bring your loved one next weekend? Lorraine Courtneychooses some destinations to show your sweetheart how much you care
WITH ST VALENTINE’S DAY fast upon us, accept the advice of Edmund Spenser: “For soone comes age, that will her pride deflower / Gather the Rose of love, whilest yet is time”. And yes, love can be found in our maritime and sometimes misty climate.
Surely the ultimate declaration of love must be a trip to Whitefriar Street in Dublin, where the martyred saint’s bones reputedly lie at rest in a Carmelite church. They were presented to it in the 19th century by the Vatican and are visited and revisited by throngs of lovers every year. There they hear the heart-rending story of Valentine, a priest who was martyred in Rome in 269 for marrying young lovers. The emperor at the time had forbidden marriage among his young soldiers, as he believed single men made better fighters. Evidently, he believed all really was fair in love and war.
Of course you could arise and go to the west. The young WB Yeats peddled lyrical ballads about gossamer fairies and stunning sunsets until, stricken with desire for the beautiful Maud Gonne, he began reaming some of the century’s greatest works of unrequited love. Saunter along lanes lined with harebells and wild garlic, watching the sky turn from blue to purple, and whisper: “Had I the heavens’ embroidered cloths / Enwrought with golden and silver light / The blue and the dim and the dark cloths / Of night and light and half-light / I would spread the cloths under your feet.”
Elsewhere in this soft-lit county, with its low purple mountains and painterly skies, you will come across places associated with Yeats: beaches, ghosts, houses and mountains that he laced through his poetry.
Gardens invariably evoke romance, which makes Co Wicklow a natural place of passion. The Vale of Avoca’s cherry trees are laden with blossoms in the spring. The beauty of this gentle valley is captured in the sweet poetry of Thomas Moore when he writes: “There is not in the wide world a valley so sweet as that vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet” – a reference to the confluence of the Avonbeg and Avonmore rivers beyond Avondale House.
Indeed, Avondale itself was home to a man who knew a thing or two about romance and priorities. Political prospects were bright for Charles Stewart Parnell until he met and fell for the estranged wife of one Captain O’Shea. Parnell and Kitty O’Shea set up house together, and the captain went about suing for divorce. The British press destroyed Parnell’s name and, with it, his political career. He succumbed to illness and expired shortly afterwards.
It is widely believed that the original chick-lit queen modelled her Mr Darcy on an Irish lover. You too can make like an Austen heroine in Glengarriff, Co Cork. South-facing and sheltered by rugged mountains, it has a peculiarly gentle climate that has been exploited since 19th-century visitors first became alerted to this pocket of lushness.
Indulge in some ancient courtly love at Tara. You will find Gráinne’s Fort surrounded by a bank with a central low mound. From here the tragic love tale of Diarmuid and Gráinne sprang. Gráinne was the daughter of Cormac Mac Art, who had arranged to marry her to his aged commander-in-chief, Fionn Mac Cumhaill. Instead she fell for the young warrior Diarmuid and they fled together, relentlessly pursued by Fionn. Their hiding places lie strewn throughout Ireland, marking many of our geological oddities.
Myths likewise abound in Co Kerry, and Ballinskelligs Bay forms the setting for one of the more wayward Irish legends. When the biblical flood was imminent, so the story goes, Noah’s son Bith and his daughter Cessair found that there was no room for them in the ark. So they and their retinue set sail for Ireland, which, Cessair advised, was uninhabited, free of monsters, reptiles and sin, and therefore would escape the flood. Although 49 women survived to land besides Cessair in 2958 BC, only two men besides Bith made it. The three men divided the women between them, but when Bith and Ladra the pilot died, Fintan, the last man, was overwhelmed and, to his eternal shame, ran away – upon which Cessair, who loved him, died of sorrow. You, however, might be content to beachcomb and catch the sunset.
HERE ARE A dozen deals to show your sweetheart that they mean more to you than a box of chocolates by whisking them away for a break for the heart.
AN AUSTEN ROMANCE
Adare Manor. Adare, Co Limerick, 061-605200, www.adaremanor.com. Inspired by the original chick-lit queen, Jane Austen, Adare Manor is offering a romantic getaway for you and your Mr Darcy. What could be more alluring than an intimate carriage ride through the estate’s picturesque grounds followed by a gourmet feast in the Oakroom restaurant specially created with lovers in mind? Elswhere, the huge Victorian Gothic mansion and grounds are pretty much guaranteed to bewitch. The Old World Romance package is €210pps.
CARRY ON IN KILLARNEY
Aghadoe Heights Hotel and Spa. Killarney, Co Kerry, 064-31766, www.aghadoeheights.com. The uberchic Aghadoe Heights Hotel and Spa has taken inspiration from Sex and the City. Its St Valentine’s break commences when you feast your eyes on the glorious Lakes of Killarney from your bedroom. You will be wined and dined over romantic breakfasts and a candlelit dinner for two in the Lake Room restaurant. And as the climax, you will both be “Carried” away with a fabulously romantic jaunting car ride through Killarneys magical national park, stopping off for a bubbly picnic. Two-night St Valentine’s package from €350pps.
LOVERS’ MYTHS AND GHOSTS
Ballygally Castle. 274 Coast Road, Ballygally, Co Antrim, 048-28581066, www.hastingshotels.com/ ballygally/index.htm. According to legend, the Giant’s Causeway was built by local giant Fionn Mac Cumhaill as a pathway across the Irish Sea to his sweetheart on the island of Staffa. A weekend at Ballygally Castle is ideal for exploring the causeway and tempestuous north Antrim coast. Reputedly haunted, the castle’s showpiece is the Ghost Room, a tiny old tower bedroom with a macabre tale. And if it all goes well, Ballygally does wedding parties too. £120pps for two nights (February 13th and 14th).
MUSIC, FOOD AND LOVE
Ballymaloe House. Shanagarry, Co Cork, 021-4652531, www.ballymaloe.ie. Ballymaloe House is hosting a wholesome culinary experience. Arrive on February 13th for two nights’ bed and breakfast with dinner on St Valentine’s night. You will get a complimentary bottle of pink bubbly in your room. On St Valentine’s morning, pick snowdrops and early daffodils from the woods. Collect some fresh eggs from the hen house and the chef will make a heart-shaped cake for you to share for afternoon tea by the open fire in the drawing room. After dinner, there will be music and songs in the drawing room with Rory Allen and friends. From €290pps.
BE NAUGHTY BUT NICE
Dunbrody House. Arthurstown, Co Wexford, 051-389600, www.dunbrody- house.com. Dunbrody House is inviting you to be Naughty but Nice this St Valentine’s weekend. Its package includes accommodation for three nights in a deluxe room or suite with a gourmet eight-course tasting menu with wine pairings on the 14th. Dinner is likely to be a suitably aphrodisiac affair. Breakfast on three mornings is served until noon, and you can indulge your senses with a Serail Chocolate Mud treatment for two on one of the three days. €375pps for a deluxe room; €425pps for a suite.
NEVER LEAVE YOUR ROOM
Dylan. Eastmoreland Place (off Upper Baggot Street), Dublin 4, 01-6603000, www.dylan.ie. Dublin’s hottest and sexiest boutique hotel has just announced the appointment of two romance concierges. They will arrange a dozen roses and chilled champagne to welcome couples on arrival, as well as ensuring that guests’ favourite music is playing when they are shown to their rooms. They will also draw a “love bath”, complete with rose petals and candles, and bring guests Dylan’s
St Valentine’s cocktail. For the ultimate in indulgence, couples can order a 10-course tasting menu to eat in their room. The concierges will also bring lazy lovers a champagne breakfast in bed the following morning. Inside the minibar, guests will find the Kama Sutra and an “intimacy kit”. Dylan’s “romantic in-room experience” costs from €369pps.
OH G’LAMOUR!
The g Hotel. Wellpark, Co Galway, 091-865200, www.theghotel.ie. The g Hotel says it would never take the “g” from glamour unless it led to l’amour (get it?). Its deluxe package includes two nights’ accommodation with full Irish breakfast each morning and dinner on one evening of choice in Matz, with views over Lough Atalia. Strawberries will be placed in the room for your arrival, and your bed will get a rose-petal turndown. From €265 per person
A POETIC RETREAT
Hilton Park. Clones, Co Monaghan, 047-56033, www.hiltonpark.ie. Flaming log fire, candlelit dinner, a romantic four-poster bed, flowers, homemade truffles and champagne – it all sounds rather tempting for the most romantic weekend of the year. Hilton Park is a wonderful ancestral home with 240 hectares of parkland and gardens in Paddy Kavanagh’s stony grey soil. Having just six bedrooms, it is a unique country-house retreat. Go for two nights’ BB and two dinners for €350pps.
ICY WARMTH IN MAYO
The Ice House Hotel Spa. The Quay, Ballina, Co Mayo, 096-23500, www.icehousehotel.ie. Escape for two nights, enjoying accommodation in one of the Ice House’s deluxe rooms overlooking the River Moy. Chocolate-dipped strawberries and a glass of bubbly await you. Indulge in a six-course gourmet dinner menu at Pier, the Ice House’s signature restaurant, on one evening. Relax over a lazy breakfast in bed and a late checkout for the ultimate chill-out experience. The Thermal area includes two outdoor hot tubs where you can bubble the time away. Two nights from €250pps.
FIT FOR A QUEEN
Knappogue Castle. Quin, Co Clare, 061-360788 www.shannonheritage.com. There is no more romantic place to stay than a castle, with its Rapunzel-chuck-me-down- a-favour-my-lady connotations. Surrounded by the rolling hills of Clare, this majestic 15th-century castle provides luxury accommodation in a self-contained private apartment within the castle walls. You can play at courtly love for the weekend among the several ensuite double and twin rooms, kitchen, lounge, bathroom and drawing room. It sleeps 10 so is ideal for house parties. A personal chef can also be arranged. A weekend stay at Knappogue Castle Staterooms costs €1,000, including breakfast cooked for you by private chef.
DRAMATIC LOVE IN DUBLIN
The Merrion. Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2, 01-6030600, www.merrionhotel.com. Looking for some drama? The Merrion has teamed up with the Gate Theatre to offer its guests the best seats in the house for the forthcoming production of Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing. It’s billed as a tender and poignant semi- autobiographical play of marital manoeuvring and the mysteries of love, commitment and authenticity. Priced at €515 per couple per night, the package includes two tickets to see the production, overnight accommodation, full Irish breakfast in bed, a bottle of chilled rosé champagne, chocolates and a champagne afternoon tea served in one of the Merrion’s log-fired drawing rooms. The Real Love package costs €515 per couple per night.
WINE, WICKLOW AND SONG
Russborough House. Blessington, Co Wicklow, 045- 865239, www.russborough.ie/events. If music really be the food of love, then whisk the other half to Russborough House to be serenaded by an evening concert of “Valentine’s love music”. The recital features Karin Leitner on flute and Cormac de Barra on harp in the candlelit surroundings of the Saloon music room. There is an option for a candlelit pre-concert meal in the Kitchen Garden restaurant, but there will also be a wine reception for those not availing of the meal. Tickets for the concert and wine reception are €25. The meal costs €40.