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Dinner at Kilkea is a pleasure. The beamed-ceiling dining room is handsome and comfortable, and the cooking is first-rate. The wine list has some attractive vintages less than £35 ($47), including Dopff au Moulin, a smooth 2002 Bordeaux at £33.50 ($45). But if the atmosphere, accommodations and dining do not disappoint, the golf does. The course, about 10 years old, is flat, and the holes are often similar, framed by immature trees and too few bunkers. We do not cross an ocean to play the Kilkea Castle 18. Fortunately, however, there is good golf no more than 20 minutes away, at Carlow Golf Club. This rolling course, with exhilarating views over the countryside, has its share of strong holes, among them the 430-yard eighth (a long second shot from a downhill lie to a rigorously bunkered green) and the 12th (a deep grassy plunge at the left edge of the putting surface). The far western reaches of County Galway find us in the heart of Connemara. Much of the landscape has a tawny tint, prompting someone with a poetic touch to refer to this stark area as "the golden silence of Connemara." There are plenty of long and open views, almost no trees, much in the way of ponds and lakes and lagoons, not to mention the rippling rises, sometimes heather-clad, the sharply soaring Maamturk Mountains, the sturdy Connemara ponies running wild and free, and the absence--near total--of man. Close to tiny Recess lies the Ballynahinch Castle Hotel, set among 450 acres of gardens and walks, full of Old World charm and cheer. A river rushes by, almost at the door, providing enchanting views. Log fires are plentiful, and several of the accommodations have a fireplace and a four-poster bed. There are two dining options, the rustic Fisherman's Pub and the more formal Owenmore Restaurant. Among the good values on the wine list are a 2003 pinot blanc, Cuvee Les Amours, from Alsace, priced at £20.50 ($27.70). Golf calls for a 35-minute drive east to the Connemara Golf Club, at Ballyconneeley, with its 27 holes of links golf distinguished by gray-limestone boulders. The look is stern, flinty. The first nine is routed over essentially dull ground. The rugged second nine, however, is full of mighty stuff, like the 200-yard 13th, played downhill from a pulpit tee to a broad green with a pond tucked surprisingly into a hollow at the right. On the third nine, only 3,145 yards from the tips, the emphasis is on precision and finesse. You will certainly enjoy it, almost as much as your stay at Ballynahinch Castle. A Connemara footnote: Ashford Castle, on the shores of vast Lough Corrib, one of the three or four most opulent country-house hotels in Ireland, boasts richly carved woodwork, imposing fireplaces, suits of armor, period oil paintings and terrific cooking. Alas, there is no championship golf within an hour and a quarter's drive, though the estate has a pleasant little nine-hole layout that makes for an acceptable family diversion between tea and dinner. Dromoland Castle, 10 minutes from Shannon Airport and heavily patronized by Americans, can be an ideal first or last stop on an Irish swing. Dating in part to the 16th century, it was once the ancestral seat of the O'Briens, direct descendants of Brian Boru, High King of Ireland in the 10th century. The castle exudes reminders of its historic past: in the wood and stone carvings, the antique oak paneling, the old portraits and landscapes and still lifes and the entrancing gardens and grounds. The gardens are based on designs by Andre Le Notre, of Versailles fame. The imposing house has 100 accommodations, including six suites. All guest rooms are stylish; many are elaborately furnished. The public rooms are stately and warm. Afternoon tea in the drawing room might evoke a more formal era, but there is nothing hushed about the atmosphere. In the beautiful Earl of Thomond Dining Room, where a harpist regularly pleases the guests, every table has a view of the lake. The cooking inclines to be fancy: perhaps an appetizer of ostrich, piccata and tartare, fennel and bramley puree, accompanied by a green-peppercorn dressing; for an entree, grilled filet of beef with a red onion and oxtail tart, French bean wrap, the whole in a claret sauce; for dessert, hot brown-bread soufflé with brown-bread ice cream. The wine list is extensive and extravagant: For instance, a celebrated Bordeaux, 1988 Chateau Le Pin, is available at £2,262 ($3,053). After dinner, a number of guests gather in the bar, where, with a fire on the hearth, artists present traditional Irish music. In 2000, Ron Kirby and Joe Carr, key figures in the design of the Old Head of Kinsale Golf Links, were commissioned to remodel Dromoland's parkland layout. New teeing grounds were built, and the green complexes were reconfigured. The greenside bunkering is now so adroit that in two or three instances a single pit effectively defends the target. Water endangers shots on eight holes. Certain holes are memorable, like the seventh, 170 yards from a vertiginously high tee in the trees down to a narrow green flanked by a pond on the left and sand on the right; and the home hole, 526 yards around Lough Dromoland to finish in the shadow of the castle walls. Golf is not the only diversion at Dromoland. There is swimming, tennis, shooting, archery, cycling and fishing. At the health center, in addition to a sauna and a gym, there is an array of beauty and body treatments, including hot-stone massage, aromatherapy and reiki (an ancient Japanese technique for relaxation). What it all adds up to, here at Dromoland or at any of these eight castle hotels, is living like landed gentry, even like princes of the blood. If only for a week or two, you might want to test the waters. |
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