The Within the Village concept was born out of a fortunate accident in the Summer of 2020 when friends 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. Lorna’s brother Keith Kissane, with a background in hospitality management and construction, saw the potential in the property and together we set about creating a ‘dream place to stay’ and to help 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 to all areas of the property. In terms of design, this is clearly visible with the natural materials used to achieve the simplistic, yet luxurious feel in all our five townhouses, both internally and externally.
From the outset, sustainability was at the core of the project. We insisted on retaining as much of the original footprint of the buildings as was 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. And we retained original aspects of each of the houses and exposed elements of internal solid stone walls in all five townhouses. Excavated stone was retained and incorporated into the rear of the property to build new boundary walls and clad the rear facades of parts of the existing property.
Internally we chose finishes that we combined with elements of our favourite places to stay in Ireland and overseas, including all the little extras that make each visit special, predominantly good service, local knowledge and high-quality accommodation with tasteful art and design. And as a result, Within the Village Townhouses and Experiences emerged.
What is most important for us now and for all our guests coming to stay, is to invoke a feeling of staying in someone’s really nice Irish home with friends. We want to offer them 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 luxurious accommodation but all the time giving the guest the flexibility to control their personal 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 across the region outside of the typical summer months. This we hope to do by providing a luxury offering in the middle of Roundstone village open for twelve months of the year. In turn, 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.
Keith, Lorna & Maria
