A Luxury Staycation to Remember

*I wrote this article for the Irish Mail on Sunday last week - here it is in full for anyone who may have missed it and who's looking for something to do over the Easter Holidays. 

LIKE many parents across the country, I now live my life based around the school calendar. It dictates when I can escape the nine-to-five grind and tells me when I have to get back to reality. It’s the first year I’ve had to worry about any of this kind of thing - my eldest is in junior infants. So although we’re only just back after a blissful two weeks of Christmas holidays in Granny’s house, I’m already dreaming of the Easter holidays. And this year it’s a whopper of a three-week break. 

Thanks to Easter falling early this year and the St Patrick’s Day bank holiday falling alongside it, school will be out from Wednesday the 16th of March to Monday the 4th of April - 19 days in total. That’s a hell of a lot of entertainment required and there’s only so many days an Easter egg hunt will cut the mustard. We had explored the option of going overseas this year but flights cost a premium now thanks to being tied down to specific dates outside of school term. A staycation it is.

During the Halloween break, we stumbled across the perfect family break away: a blend of luxury for the adults coupled with outdoor adventures for the kids, it really was exactly what we were looking for. Before children (BC) I’d heard of Castle Leslie as a luxury adult destination - if it was good enough for Sir Paul McCartney’s nuptials it must be swanky - so it hadn’t occurred to me that it’d be somewhere suitable for kids. I was wrong. Not only did they cater for families like ours - with three children under five - they made us feel extremely welcome. Not an eye-roll in sight when they noticed us coming and they addressed the kids with a smile and good humour. 

Our self catering Stable Mews was luxurious and allowed us the space and scope to have a relaxing time and room to breathe in the evenings when the kids finally went to sleep. We arrived to find a warm, inviting townhouse style of accommodation with our fridge stocked with beer and wine and a welcome hamper packed with goodies galore, along with some DVDs suitable for the whole family. And best of all, the 1000 acres of the splendour that is the Castle Leslie Estate is located in a really handy spot, slap bang in the middle of our hellish journey from West Cork to where I grew up in Donegal. It was the perfect three-day stopover that spoiled us rotten.

The estate, which is located in the picturesque village of Glaslough, boasts the castle itself, the lodge (where you’ll find the main restaurant, bar, reception etc) a lake, an equestrian centre and a host of beautiful woodland walks that left us muddy but exhilarated. The kids were delighted with the opportunity to run freely and splash in muddy puddles a la Peppa Pig while myself and himself had our own down time at the spa and equestrian centre respectively. We felt as if we’d arrived in a little world of our own as we could walk along the estate for ages without coming across another soul. Yet when we trudged back to the lodge afterwards for a hot chocolate to warm up our bones, the place was buzzing with people - couples, families and a people reading the paper at their leisure. It really had something for everyone and our neighbours at the Stable Mews even brought their family pet, a boxer called Lola. It really was somewhere for all the family, canines included. There’s also the option for fishing, kayaking, clay pigeon shooting and even hot air ballooning at Castle Leslie Estate. And for people with older children (5+), there’s the brilliant Saddle Club available on selected dates at a cost of €25 per session per child. 

Given that it was Halloween, the Castle went all out with the spooky decor. Lanterns, pumpkins, faux spider webs and skeletons adorned every available space in our courtyard and lit up the path to the lodge. The kids adored it. And as for the food, the breakfast in Snaffles Restaurant at the Lodge was to die for. Every morning of our stay, we tucked into a buffet of fresh fruits, pastries, cereals and yoghurts, and stuffed ourselves with full Irish breakfasts or pancakes or French toast from the menu. Delicious. On our first night, for dinner we opted for a pizza delivery, which was kindly organised by the hotel reception. And on the second evening we dined in Conor’s Bar. The restaurant sources all its food as locally as possible and they have an impressive kids menu that doesn’t just contain chicken nuggets and chips. 

Glaslough village itself, located just outside the front gates of Castle Leslie is small yet charming and extremely picturesque. It’s got a few pubs and an artisan chocolate café, as well as the aforementioned pizza place that delivered our dinner on the first night. It’s located in a really handy spot about 15 minutes from Monaghan town and close to Emyvale – not much more than 1.5 hours from Dublin, so perfect if your kids aren’t seasoned car travellers like mine. 

For Easter, Castle Leslie is offering packages perfect for families – there’s a three night or a five night stay to choose from. A five night break in the Old Stable Mews, for example, includes a welcome basket with beer and wine for the adults and ice-cream and chocolate for the kids. A treat box for the perfect night in includes popcorn, snacks and sweets and some family classics on DVD. Included in the stay is breakfast each morning in Snaffles and a dinner in Conor’s Bar on a night of your choice. The kitchens at the Mews are fully equipped for you to whip up meals on the other nights, or you could dine out or order pizza in like we did. The five night break for a family of two adults and two kids costs €1000, while the three night break is €800.

*See www.castleleslie.com for more information on bookings and special offers.

Don't breastfeed in public unless it's an emergency...

So the woman who ’broke the internet’ with pictures of her arse has said that she wouldn’t breastfeed in public unless it was an emergency situation and she was fully covered. Right. So it’s apparently OK to show the world your naked body in all its splendour, but God forbid anyone should catch a glimpse of breasts in action doing what nature intended them to do. 

People who feel uncomfortable with public breastfeeding do so, I’d imagine, because the female body is constantly seen as a sexual commodity. Boobs are used to sell clothing, to sell perfume, makeup - hell they’re used to sell pretty much everything, especially sex. Breastfeeding isn’t a sexual act and so viewing boobs in this way throws people’s perceptions out of whack and they don’t know where to look, or what to feel. I’ve heard it all on online forums: breastfeeding is incest, breastfeeding in public is as bad as going to the loo in public and breastfeeding an older child is akin to child abuse. Any why this venom? Simple: because people view women’s bodies as sexual objects. A woman’s nipple? Sexual. A mans - even though it looks exactly the same? Well of course people don’t mind seeing a man topless. 

I have no issue with Kim Kardashian selling her body to make a living. She apparently made $5 million alone from the sex tape that was the catalyst for making her entire family famous in the first place. Fair play to you, if that’s what you’re into. But I do feel quite peeved that she’s not being a better advocate for other women who choose to feed their babies based on their child’s needs, and not on where they happen to be sitting at any given time. 

She said, “I still personally wouldn't breastfeed at a restaurant with a bunch of people I didn't know staring at me. I've seen this before and remember tweeting how shocked I was. Now that I'm a mom, I'm not that shocked, especially if you have a few kids and can't leave to breastfeed one kid in the bathroom while leaving the others at the table. But I still personally wouldn't do it, unless it was an emergency situation and I was fully covered." So Kim, are you suggesting that first time mums, with no other kids in tow, should ideally retreat to the jacks to feed their child? Please. 

She does say, however, that mums should do whatever makes them comfortable. Of course. That little caveat. Do what you want but I’m not going to be the weirdo with my boobs out letting a baby feed off them, is basically what she’s saying.

I have a niggling suspicion that if Kim could somehow make money off breastfeeding that her aversion to doing it publicly wouldn’t be long dissipating. I can see it now: brelfie after brelfie after brelfie. But this is the thing: breastfeeding doesn’t cost anything and corporations aren’t making millions out of selling it, so no one is interested in paying her to promote it. She did take cash to flog anti-morning sickness tablets during her pregnancy with Saint, however, so at least child bearing has been somewhat profitable for her. 

As for having positive advocates for breastfeeding, public or otherwise, there are some celebrities who have stepped up to the plate to debunk any myths and to attempt to reclaim breasts back from marketers. Alyssa Milano, Gwen Stefani, Gisele, Salma Hayek, Angelia Jolie, Miranda Kerr, Pink and even Kim’s sister Kourtney Kardashian, to name but a few. Breastfeeding isn’t something weird or strange that should be hidden away. It’s not private or distasteful. It’s just a mother feeding her child. With boobs. Get over it. 

The big move: re-visited

So this month marks our three year anniversary of moving out of Dublin to the lovely Clonakilty in West Cork. Time flies. Since then we’ve had some pretty big landmark occasions – the arrival of our third child, Maisie starting primary school, me getting my wellies on and feeding cattle…It’s been great. But I do miss Dublin and a trip there for work this week reminded me of what a great place it is. People ask me all the time which I prefer – city life or country living. So here I’m going to do a list of what I miss most about Dublin and what I love most about Clon to see who wins…

City Life

*People, people everywhere. People watching is one of my favourite pastimes and it’s so much more interesting in the city. You never know who’s going to walk past.

*The food. There’s so much choice, so much value. Although it hasn’t been that long since I moved out of there, already I can see a massive difference. There are loads of quirky little cafes and amazing restaurants to choose from. And the early bird menus are practically giving food away.

*Public transport. The Luas, the Dart, and dare I say it, even Dublin Bus. I took it all for granted when I lived in the city but it’s so handy to not have to depend on your car all the time to get from A to B.

*Proper broadband. Oh how I miss my high speed fibre connection. I feel like I’ve gone back to the days of dial up, waiting an eternity for pages to load.

*Shopping. I miss having access to the biggest brands, brilliant markets and everything in between. I miss browsing through antique shops on Aungier Street and George’s Street.

*My hairdresser. I spent eight years going to the same guy. Eight years. I’ve only been married for four. Having to find someone new to chop my hair has been a traumatic experience.

*More employment opportunities. Pretty much everything in my industry is Dublin-based.

*Access to hospitals and facilities. Since having kids I’ve become an even bigger worrier than I was before. It was always reassuring to know that there were top-class hospitals closeby should anything bad happen to one of the kids. Now we have an hour’s drive ahead of us in an emergency situation.

*Late night bars. Restaurants that are open all night. I don’t get out very often but when I do, it’s often after nine o’clock when I’ve finally managed to get all three kids to sleep. That gives me a few minutes to make myself presentable and about two hours before last orders at the bar. I’m often only getting into the swing of things when it’s time to come home. Booo.

*The rest of Ireland is so accessible from the capital -  all roads really do lead to Dublin. When I lived there it ‘only’ took me 4 hours to get back to where I grew up in Co. Donegal. Now I have an epic journey that takes 11 hours from door to door (with food and toilet breaks for the kids)

What I love most about Clonakilty

*People people, everywhere. Fair enough, there’s only a fraction of the amount of people here compared to in Dublin but it’s still a buzzing little town with people from all walks of life living here. There are loads of blow ins like myself and I’ve gotten to know so many great people. And everyone is so friendly.

*The food. Ok, so there are fewer restaurants and it’s definitely more expensive to eat out here but the food is cracking. My local butcher raises all his own cattle out in Inchydoney and the Supervalu here has the best cheese counter ever. And Clonakilty pudding? Need I say more?

*Free parking. Ok, there’s no public transport and the bus to Cork takes ages and costs a fortune. But we have free parking all over town and not a clamper in sight. Yay!

*Shopping. Clonakilty is very much about keeping things local so there are very few chain stores in town and so many lovely little boutiques. I may miss the big shops but I really love that it tries to protect this aspect of local business.

*Fresh air and space. We live five minutes from the stunning Inchydoney Beach. It’s good for the soul. In fact our neck of the woods has a million and one gorgeous outdoor attractions that make you feel like you’re always on holidays, especially when the sun is shining.

*It’s warmer here. I always notice a drop in temperature whenever I’m in Dublin. It’s noticeably colder, albeit not as rainy.

*Cheaper rent. We’d be looking at a four figure sum for an equivalent house in a nice area if we were living in Dublin. I’m not sure how we’d survive, to be honest.

*We own a chunk of land down here and will hopefully be building our dream home later this year. To me, that’s priceless.