Luxury Ireland in Laois

Ballyfin from the air.

ANDREA JONES | GARDENEXPOSURES.CO.UK

By Margaret Noonan

While there seems to be a castle, crumbling ruin, or tower house around every corner of Ireland, many of its most regal properties are castle-like “big houses” and country estates. Ballyfin Demesne, a place I had the good luck to visit last spring, is one of them.

Set in the beautiful surroundings of the Slieve Bloom Mountains in County Laois, the site of Ballyfin (www.ballyfin.com) has been settled from ancient times and the house is famously one of the most lavish Regency mansions in Ireland. It was the Normans who brought the Gothic style to Ireland, but in later centuries, classical Palladian, Georgian, Regency, and Victorian architecture swept through the country leaving a treasure trove of stately public buildings, pristine “big houses” (the name given to large country homes, mansions, and estates of the Anglo-Irish), and demesne (a word of Norman French origin that designates the “home farm” or lands managed by a landlord).

I arrived at Ballyfin, a walled 614-acre demesne with mansion, medieval-style tower, gardens, farmlands, and lake, on a damp, drizzly morning and drove what seemed like an endless roadway through fernery, bluebell glades, and century-old trees. The “wow” moment arrived when the house itself suddenly appeared — and this was even before stepping inside to see why it’s considered to be the most significant early nineteenth century country mansion in Ireland.

ANDREA JONES | GARDENEXPOSURES.CO.UK

Built in the 1820s to designs by the great Irish architects Sir Richard and William Morrison, the house was the family home of Sir Charles and Lady Caroline Coote until 1928 and the much-loved Patrician College Ballyfin from 1928 to 2009. With money in short supply in the school’s later years, the buildings deteriorated dramatically and the school was eventually sold to an American couple, Fred and Kay Kreibel, who had always dreamed of opening a small, luxury country house hotel. When Ballyfin came on the market, they found it an irresistible challenge and spent eight years restoring it—longer than it took to build it in the first place!

In May 2011, it opened as a five-star, 20-room hotel (five more bedrooms were added in 2015), but it easily doubles as a museum of Irish neo-classical architecture and design. At precisely four o’clock each afternoon, a butler leads a formal tour of the home that explains in great detail the architectural and design features that were original to the home, as well as to the features that figured in the restoration. Coincidentally, many of the Coote family treasures removed from the house when they left in 1928 have been sourced at auctions and galleries and returned there.

PHOTO BY MARGARET M. JOHNSON

When furnishing the home first began, it seems that Lady Caroline had but one thought in mind: to impress! Determined to turn the house that one visitor described as “nothing very ornamental or magnificent” into the finest in Ireland, she adopted the motto coûte que coûte” (cost what it may) and embarked on a grand tour of Europe securing everything from Roman mosaics and a mantle clock made for Napoleon I to marble fireplaces and a rare Augsburg table cabinet. Its rather stolid exterior was finally eclipsed by its lavish interior of inlaid wooden floors, ancient Roman pavement, plasterwork in its domed ceilings, and marble and scagliola columns that were unparalleled in any Irish country home of the period. Thanks to the grand taste of Lady Caroline and the unfaltering efforts of the Kreibels and Managing Director Jim Reynolds, the house remains a testament to Irish classic style.

But for all of Ballyfin’s classicism, it has embraced contemporary touches that are nearly obligatory in a twenty-first century hotel: a gorgeous indoor swimming pool, sauna, fully equipped gym, and treatment rooms are located in the lower level along with a casual bar and impressive wine cellar focusing on wines from Irish “Wild Geese” families. It’s 28-year-old executive chef Michael Tweedie also strays from a totally classical cooking style, preferring lighter seasonal foods with big bursts of flavor. Rather like “variations on a theme” on the nights I dined there, he paired citrus-cured salmon with salmon mousse and cubes of salmon jelly; a poached lobster tail with lobster ravioli on a bed of lobster bisque; and lamb chops with mini shepherd’s pie and mini lamb croquettes. One of my favorite desserts was this delicious French-style lemon tart.

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CRÈME DE CITRON

SERVES 8

At Ballyfin, chef Michael Tweedie pays homage to French patisserie with this “crème de citron.” For an added nod to the classic dessert, he bakes it in a 13 -x 4- inch rectangular tart pan, but you can use a 12-inch round pan.

For the pastry

• 1 large egg yolk


• 2 tablespoons water


• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract


• 1 1⁄4 cups all-purpose flour


• 1⁄3 cup sugar


• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt

For the filling

3/4 cups fresh lemon juice

6 large egg yolks

3 large eggs

3/4 cups sugar

4 ounces butter

Fresh berries for serving

1. Make pastry. In a small bowl, whisk together egg yolk, water, and vanilla. In a large bowl (or food processor), combine flour, sugar, salt, and butter. Pulse or work in butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg mixture and mix until dough comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.


2. Preheat oven to 375° F. Transfer dough to lightly floured surface and roll out to fit tart pan. Line with parchment paper or aluminum foil, fill with ceramic pie weights or dried beans, and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350° F, remove paper or foil, and bake for 15 to 18 minutes longer, or until crust is golden.

1. In a medium saucepan, bring lemon juice to boil. In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks, eggs, and sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Slowly add lemon juice and beat until smooth.


2. Return mixture to saucepan. Return to boil, whisking constantly until mixture begins to thicken. Whisk in butter, a few pieces at a time, until smooth and thick. Pour into the tart shell and let cool; refrigerate until firm. Slice and serve with fresh berries.