An Nead
25 September 2018
One of the highlights of our honeymoon trip back in 2008 was the cottage where we stayed, An Nead. Meaning ‘The Nest’ in Irish, An Nead is the smallest stone cottage in a little pre-famine village that was found on the property of Cnoc Suain. The owners Charlie and Dearbhaill were amazing hosts, the cultural center of Cnoc Suain was an interesting place, and the cottage itself was a perfect cozy honeymoon retreat.
The owners purchased the property where they would create their cultural center, and discovered the little village while out working the land one day. They renovated the buildings, keeping the traditional charm and design while adding modern plumbing, electricity, kitchens, etc. Each little cottage was livable again, and they partnered with a group in the US that booked traditional stays in Ireland and the UK. You could rent a castle from them, but we were fine with our little stone cottage!
Of course, times have changed rather drastically in the past ten years, so no longer do we need to go through specialist booking agents as anyone can set up their website or start an AirBNB. There were some issues that caused the owners to pull the cottages from rentals for a while, but we were so happy to see that it was available again! Booking a few nights in An Nead was a must!
The long windy road between Spiddal and Moycullen led to a tiny dirt path behind a gate. This path led far back into the bogland, where eventually it turned off to a group of cottages. Charlie came to greet us on the path, and we all reminisced of our last time there and how hard it was to believe it has been a full ten years!
We went down to the cottage and walked around the grounds, finding ourselves surprised at just how little had changed. As we walked around the building, we reached out to feel those old stones again. We’ve talked much about favorite places we’ve stayed, particularly in Brend or Alsace, and how those areas felt like home. An Nead is different than the rest though, as it isn’t just the area or the town that feels like our home, but instead it is the cottage itself. If I could design the perfect little house away from the troubles of life, this would be it exactly. We put the key in the green half-door, turn with a click, and step inside...
A rush of emotion and memory hit us as we stepped through the door. In many ways, the cottage could well have been suspended in time since we left last. The little couch sat on the stone floor, the little two-seater table against the wall, the orange and green kitchen with a basket full of breakfast goodies, and the bedroom tucked behind the old wooden door. The only real difference is the fireplace – unusable last time we were here due to concerns after another building had a fire – was now outfitted with a nice wood stove.
We settled in around the already lit fireplace, taking a rest and just absorbing the feeling of being back in this magical place. We kept the top of the split door open, so the heavenly smell of a peat fire came in for some good old Irish aromatherapy.
We were back home at last!
