Stay Awhile and Put Up Yer Feet
By Martin Hintz

Settling into a hot whirlpool after a day of driving through one of Ireland's "softer" days is a pleasure granted only to a few lucky souls, those who know where to go for a touch of the sybaritic in the heart of the Irish Midlands. 

Who cares if it's raining outside when the tired traveler can loll in the tubs at the Temple Mount Health Farm in Horseleap, Co. Westmeath.  It might seem odd that a 100-acre former sheep farm is now a popular weekend getaway for the frazzled Dublin business set, trying to escape for few hours from the roar of the Celtic Tiger.  But no, it isn't so strange after all.  There are a growing number of such new holiday opportunities open for the traveler to Ireland in this little-known center of the country where hostelries of all sorts are now available in  the Midlands and adjoining counties.

Declan and Bernadette Fagan, Temple Mount Health Farm owners, are among the lucky recipients of a flow of EU money that helped convert their family barns and outbuildings into a spa and to allow them to spruce up the ancestral home as a comfortable B&B. The funding has been designed to allow struggling farmers find new opportunities for economic stability and to allow them to keep living in rural Ireland.

Although replete with European creams and salves, saunas and massage tables, Temple Mount remains a cozy snug, with the Fagans' youngsters on hand for a family touch in the Big House. Outside, assorted cats and dogs hide from the damp under various overhangs.  Inside, nimble-fingered masseuses and skin care experts -- all young, energetic and newly-trained local Irish -- tend to the needs of Temple Mount's clientele.

The farm is reached by a winding lane off the N-6 motorway between Kilbeggan on the east and Moate on the west.  The main building is about 250 years old, with high ceilings, plenty of fireplaces and wonderfully creaking hallways.. Declan's great-aunt, "Auntie B," lived here during the Irish Civil War and War of Independence.

"Late one evening, a group of priests came to the door and asked if any rooms were available for the night," said Fagan of those days, relating a well-known family legend.  "Auntie B ushered them inside and was up early, readying their breakfast. But they had already departed before the first light of day."

Then, according to the tale, the elderly lady looked out her front window to see the courtyard full of British cavalry.  Apparently, the "priests" were part of an IRA flying column which had derailed a train near Athlone and the troops were hot on their trail.  Of course, the redoubtable aunt disclaimed any knowledge of her visitors. Chastised by her fierce tongue-lashing about disturbing the rest of an old woman, the British departed hastily, spurs and sabers jangling in the morning mist.

The Big Fella himself, revolutionary-hero Michael Collins, supped tea in the house kitchen one day after his car ran off the road into a ditch and he awaited repairs.

Mount Temple opened in 1997, with offerings that include stress management classes and getaways for honeymooners, mother-daughters and groups of friends looking for a chance to chat, sip wine and relax. Guests can usually hike around the neighborhood, a fact limited recently by the hoof and mouth scare. They also visit local tourist attractions such as Locke's Distillery in Kilbeggan and ancient monastic sites.

"It has been a challenge to put all this together," emphasized Bernadette Fagan, who runs a tight kitchen and helps oversee the staff of 12.  Her husband pointed out that "a lot of local women have careers in health services. Working here full or part time means that they can stay around here rather than move to the big cities."

"The country is affluent now, people have money," Bernadette continued. "They want to enjoy the good life." 

Americans wanting a nontouristy experience find that Castledaly Manor — seven miles southeast of Athlone near Clonmacnoise -- fills their vacation needs. The 20-room, 220-year-old mansion was purchased in 1997 by Rip O'Dwanny, owner of the County Clare restaurant and boutique hotel on Milwaukee's trendy East Side. 

Castleday was refurbished and opened for guests in 1999, according to Alan Pape, co-ordinator of O'Dwanny's Turf Holidays. The tour company coordinates the weekly roundtrip Wednesday to Wednesday getaway from Chicago to Dublin. The trips have been so popular that reservations are required a minimum of six months ahead, said Pape.

Once at the manor, guests can take part in organized tours around the area or venture out on their own. Prices per couple, which include breakfast, airfare and taxes range from $1,985 in high season to $1,515 in the low season. "Our visitors appreciate the unstructured experience and the value," Pape said.

On the other end of the housing scale are even more intimate getaway opportunities. Liam Hughes, whose great-grandfather emigrated to the States after the Famine, found a 50-year-old council cottage for sale in Co. Tipperary. The building is located on Keeper Hill Scenic Drive, one hour southeast of Shannon and 45 miles northeast of Limerick, where the two-bedroom, one-story building has a commanding vista. Neenagh is the closest village.  "It takes a half mile to go down the hill on a bicycle and two and a half hours up," he laughed. 

The house, which he calls Knockahopple, is only a mile from Hughes' ancestral home. The Michigan native who now lives in Milwaukee had been regularly visiting relations in  Ireland in the summers. They told him of the availability of the house eight years ago, a property been closed for three years after its occupants, the Burkes, had died. 

"I put a bid on it and got the place, quite surprisingly," Hughes said. The windows were broken out and a lot of interior work needed to be done.  But over  several years, with aid from cousins and local tradesmen, the house was ready for occupancy.  It now is full of antiques, including an antique dresser Hughes found in a cousin's cow shed. 

"There was a bulge in the back that I wanted to repair before using it again.  Inside, we found all sorts of family deeds and papers that dated back generations.  "It was quite a find, really exciting," Hughes enthused.

His father, Eugene, now 90, visited the house recently and was "quite impressed with what I had done,"  Hughes said, who added that it was coming full circle for his family, like coming home.  "When we were walking back down the road, he turned to me and said how special this all was," Hughes recalled. 

Through word of mouth, Hughes has hosted several guests at his place. Two were elderly women and another a doctor and his wife who hired Hughes to chauffeur them.  "These were really personalized visits, it worked out really well," he indicated.  "We would go to places that I had discovered or where my Irish friends enjoyed," he pointed out.

For more information on accommodations and travel opportunities in the region contact Midlands-East Tourism, Dublin Road, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, Ireland, 044-48650 or email: Midlandseasttourism@tinent.ie. For Turf Holidays, call 414-290-6101, and for Knockahopple Cottage, 414-273-0643.