I haven’t told you about our stay at The Old Dispensary yet, have I? When we returned from Ireland in May, my mind was buzzing with details of the the places and ideas I wanted to blog about. Recently I got round to writing about the wedding (here and here). I also managed to tell you about our hotel stay and my favourite places in Kenmare town.  Now we are back from our second stay in Ireland for this year and I still haven’t been able to complete all the blog posts I wanted to write about our stay in May. Where does the time go?

Clicking my way through photos on my camera the other day I came across the photos I took during our stay in Donore, a village close to where I am from. Since our family home was awash with wedding preparations, my co-bridesmaid kindly suggested we stay in her holiday home  – The Old Dispensary – for a few days. We wouldn’t get under anyone’s feet, the children would have a bed each instead of bunking in with each other and we’d have plenty of space to relax, pre- and post-wedding. The ideal solution really.

Before we arrived I hadn’t even had time to look the house up. Having somewhere in a handy location to use as our base was the main thing for us. I knew the address and headed there the day before the wedding. Erin, the owner of the house, is a very open and welcoming person with a great sense of style. I’ve known her since my teens, so I knew we wouldn’t be in for any nasty surprises. Opening the front door, I was delighted with what I saw – a beautifully tiled hall floor,  exposed brick in the dining area, lots of wood, a spacious and well-equipped kitchen and a gorgeous staircase sweeping down into the open plan living area.

The ground floor also houses a living room with stove, plenty of comfy seating, TV , a toy box and tons of reading material. Situated on the corner of the house, the living room has windows on two sides making it a lovely spot to relax and read. Or play. On the morning after the wedding that is just what we did. While the children played – one still in his suit from the previous day – and The Bavarian snoozed,I curled up in an armchair with a novel from the shelf and switched off.

The three bedrooms, all on the first floor, are beautifully decorated with patchwork quilts and vintage furniture. The original fireplaces are still there, painted in vibrant colours. There are two double rooms (one en suite) and one twin room. We slept in the spacious room above the living room with a view of the village crossroads. Our youngest slept in there with us in a travel cot Erin had provided for us.

As well as the bedrooms, upstairs there is a bathroom with tiles and old world fittings to die for. Downstairs there’s a loo under the stairs and a separate bathroom diagonally opposite with a roll top bath and more stunning tiles. A woman after my own heart, Erin seems to love her floors.

While our stay was for family reasons – the much talked of wedding of my sister – The Old Dispensary in Donore is fab location for holidays on the east coast of Ireland. Set in the historic Boyne Valley in Ireland’s Ancient East, sites like Oldbridge Battle of The Boyne Museum and Gardens, Newgrance, Knowth, Dowth, Tara and the town of Drogheda are all a short drive away. The beaches of the east coast a just a few minutes drive as is the Dublin-Belfast motorway.

[Disclaimer: We stayed in The Old Dispensary free of charge because in Erin we have a very kind friend. I was not asked to promote the house no r was I paid to write this post. All words, photos and opinions are my own. You can find dates, prices and further details adn photos on The Old Dispensary on AirBNB.]