Dear Guest,
The Within the Village concept was born out of a fortunate accident in the summer of 2020 when we — Lorna Mayne and Maria Murphy — saw a ‘For Sale’ sign on Connolly’s pub and guesthouse in the centre of Roundstone village, en route to a swim in Gurteen Bay. We brought the idea to Lorna’s brother, Keith Kissane, who has a background in hospitality management and construction. He immediately saw the potential in the property, and together we set about creating a dream place to stay — and helping bridge the gap in the high-end, luxury, self-catering market in Connemara and Ireland.
From the outset, our vision was to take inspiration from the beautiful surroundings of Connemara and instil simple yet rich finishes throughout the property. In terms of design, this is clearly visible in the natural materials used to achieve the simplistic, yet luxurious feel in all five of our luxury cottages, both internally and externally.
Sustainability was also at the core of the project from the beginning. We insisted on retaining as much of the original footprint of the buildings as possible so as not to interrupt the original landscape of Roundstone village and its beauty as a traditional coastal town on the west coast of Ireland. We retained original aspects of each of the houses and exposed internal solid stone walls in all five cottages. Excavated stone was kept and reused at the rear of the property to build new boundary walls and clad the rear facades.
Internally, we chose finishes that combined elements of our favourite places to stay — both in Ireland and overseas — and included all the little extras that make each visit special: good service, local knowledge, and high-quality accommodation with tasteful art and design. And as a result, Within the Village Luxury Cottages and Experiences emerged.
What’s most important to us now, and for all our guests, is to invoke the feeling of staying in someone’s really nice Irish home — with friends. We want to offer a true escape, surrounded by beautiful things and landscape, along with comfort, warmth, and the feeling of being looked after with a true Irish welcome and hospitality. Simply put, we want to offer an exceptional self-catering experience — akin to the welcome of a great Irish B&B or luxury hotel, while giving guests the freedom to control their own escape to the west.
As three Galwegians, with combined careers in hospitality management, tourism development, and tourism education, we are also passionate about extending the Irish tourism season in the region beyond the typical summer months. We hope to do this by offering a luxury experience in the centre of Roundstone village that remains open twelve months of the year. In turn, we hope that other tourism businesses and the local community can benefit from the additional domestic and international visitors to the West.
We look forward to welcoming you.
Warm regards,
Maria, Lorna & Keith
