What’s it like to live in a far-off place most of us see only on a vacation? Foreign Correspondence is an interview with someone who lives in a spot you may want to visit.
Niall Rochford, 38, is general manager of Ashford Castle in County Mayo, in northwest Ireland. The Irish native previously was deputy general manager at Dromoland Castle in Shannon, Ireland.
Q. You went to school in hotel management and ended up running castles-turned-hotels. Did you take a Castles 101 course?
A. At times I wish I did. There are different challenges and there are few castle-hotels that are genuine throughout Europe. We have challenges with maintenance and energy efficiency, but other than that, it has been very positive.
Q. Look out your window. What do you see?
A. I’m looking out the window of Ashford Castle’s Connaught Room, which dates to the 17th century. I’m looking at an incredible scene, Lough Corrib. I see the fountain, trees and shrubs. It’s dry today but windy. The lake’s water level is high. Corrib is the second-largest lake in Ireland. It’s a very rugged and rough scene, but idyllic. There are not many views like this.
Q. What’s the backstory on Ashford Castle?
A. One section goes back to 1228, when the first stones were laid on what became known as the Ashford estate. It was rebuilt by the de Burgos family, Anglo-Norman invaders who fought the O’Connor clan and claimed this land. It went through different hands but was used as a stronghold for years.
The estate as we know it began in the 17th century, when the Guinness family - the brewing family - took it over. They used it as their main hunting and fishing lodge and summer resort. It was a place of jollity where parties were held.
Around the 1840s, the time of the Great Famine, Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness wanted to extend the estate’s beauty, develop formal gardens and give local people work. He also built schools. When Ireland won independence in 1922, many castles were burned or had roofs taken off or were reclaimed by the Irish. Ashford wasn’t, because the family was known to be benevolent.
In the 1930s, the Guinnesses handed the castle to the government. They weren’t using it, and it seemed like the thing to do. A gentleman leased it from the government, and in 1939 developed Ashford Castle as a hotel. An American industrialist bought it in 1973 and built a golf course on the estate, added rooms, and transformed it into an international-standard hotel. In 1984 it was taken over by an Irish-American syndicate that has run it ever since.
Q. Old castles - old ghosts?
A. We have a number. Best known is the daughter of Lady Ardilaun - one of the Guinnesses - in one room. People sometimes get a cold feeling in there. It’s in an old part of the castle, but this isn’t because of the heating. We put in an elevator, and we’ve heard that on a number of occasions it goes up and down by itself.
Q. How many rooms are available?
A. 430.
Q. Are they old? Modern?
A. We have a four-year refurbishment plan. All rooms are suites with their own showers, Internet, TV systems and converters. Still, it is in keeping with the old style; the look is in no way contemporary. We brought the 12th century into the 21st.
Q. The west of Ireland has always been rugged and undeveloped. Is that still true?
A. Let’s put it this way: it’s very unspoiled. We’re on the edge of Connemara, the most rugged and wonderful part of Ireland, with deep valleys and great scenery. That’s 10 or 15 miles from where we are. We’re where people go to be at one with nature.
Q. There aren’t many large cities; is it mostly villages?
A. We’re in Cong village, which has a population of about 35. We have five pubs and two churches.
There are some effects of the “Celtic Tiger” (Irish economic boom) like nice houses, but this is as unspoiled as you can get in Ireland.
There are planning laws in some areas of Ireland: You can’t over-modernize. Cong is a very traditional village with thatched cottages. It’s not leprechaun kitsch; it’s the real island. It takes the ability to combine the modern and old and make it work.
Q. What’s there to do?
A. In Connemara, you can visit Kylemore Abbey, which is still a working school and much a part of a tour of Connemara. There’s the Museum of Country Life, in Castlebar, about 45 minutes from here. On our Web site - www.ashford.ie - you’ll see a full range of attractions around the castle.
At the castle is Ireland’s only school of falconry. We have a nine-hole golf course, equestrian center and some of the best river and lake fishing. Shooting, too.
Q. How large are the castle grounds?
A. 365 acres. In the Guinnesses’ time, it was larger - thousands of acres, as far as the eye could see. As time went on, parts were sold off or given to the state.
Q. Guinness on tap?
A. Indeed. It has been flowing here for an awful long time. In terms of food, our Cullen’s at the Cottage has nice lobster, mussels and other seafood. We also have the Prince of Wales Bar, named after the fellow who became King George V. In 1903 he visited Lord Ardilaun. Part of the castle was extended and renovated for that visit. I believe that visit holds the Guinness Book of Records record for largest woodcock shoot.
Q. Are there any woodcocks left?
A. Lots of wild ones around, without a doubt. In winter, you go rough shooting for that, pheasant and snipe.
Know someone who lives in an interesting city or country who would like to give us the inside line on visiting there? E-mail, in English, jbordsen@charlotteobserver.com.
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