Mrs Meaney's Traditional Cottage Museum

Beauty, History, & Fun!

September's sunshine has been a welcome joy after the wettest & cloudiest summer in Ireland for many a year. Last weekend we got out & enjoyed it at a real hidden gem- Mrs. Meaney's Cottage Museum at the gorgeous, special, Ballilogue Clochan.

Now open on weekends serving tea, coffee & homemade cakes, the cottage is a joy, very lovingly restored under the guidance of Pat McCarthy who had great affection for the late Mrs. Meaney.

Her cottage is part of the clochan, often translated as 'farm town'- a traditional small group of homes, farms & even little shops clustered together in the Irish countryside. Mrs Meaney's cottage dates back to the 1700s, and is a treasure well worth seeking out, regardless of the tasty weekend cakes & coffee! 

the fabulous old hearth in Mrs Meaney's- still works!

the stairs to the sleeping loft now display crafts

I should add a disclaimer here-- we used to live in one of the old stone barns in the Clochan, and my husband was the project manager & general labourer for the renovation of the main Inn building- another set of old stone barns. We've seen the love & care that has gone in to the development of the whole Ballilogue Clochan, and think it is a really special place to stay over in if you can't get enough of the charm of the clochan! The Inn is fabulous; a wonderful mix of the traditional and modern, and of course Pat & Mark are fantastic hosts. Lots of the jams & such for sale in the shop are made from their garden, as well as in the cooking for the Inn.

Mrs Meaney's Cottage, Ireland

Out to the Golden Fields

After cups of very good coffee, slices of  sinfully good chocolate cake, & a jar of locally sourced & made Ballilogue honey, you might want to hit the great outdoors and burn off some calories. The whole Ballilogue/Graiguenamanagh/Inistioge area is perfect for strolling or being even more active, with walks, hills, and rivers galore.

We collected our four dogs from home, and headed out to a hilltop field for a bit of fun under the warm September sunshine. September is a brilliant month to visit Ireland/staycation in Ireland as the weather is often at its best, lots of festivals are on, but crowds are less. Here in Graiguenamanagh, for example, the Town of Books festival is on 21-23 Sept 2012, & the week of 10-16 Sept the Waterford Harvest festival is on- just a half hour drive away. (If you click the links you'll find out a bit more.)

We had a great bit of craic playing in the fields, take a wee minute & have a watch. Enjoy! ;-)