More people are staying in Ireland to enjoy low stress holidays in cosy self-catering homes, writes Róisín Ingle
Nothing irritates friends Aisling O'Grady and Gillian McDonald more around this time of year than people who complain about holidaying in Ireland. The people who say the weather is bound to be depressing if they stay at home. Or moan that the kids will get bored because there is nothing to do. Their annual break - which, for the last three years, has been spent in rented houses with their seven children in Rosslare, Co Wexford - brings both women back to the freedom-filled trips they took as children. And, whatever anyone else might think, it's as close to holiday perfection as they could wish.
They started holidaying there for a month each summer around three years ago, renting in Rosslare Strand through Self Catering Ireland, a holiday home rental company with 2,500 properties on offer (www.selfcateringireland.ie).
"We both had small children and wanted the same thing out of a holiday," says O'Grady. "We didn't want to go abroad with the children because it would be too much hassle, and a hotel in Ireland wasn't practical economically, so we decided to rent houses - and we haven't looked back."
The cottages are next door to each other, so the friends get to spend serious quality time together which they don't achieve as often as they would like in Dublin. The houses, they say, are cosy and comfortable, with an open fire and all the facilities they have in their own homes. "In one way it is harder work than other holidays," points out O'Grady. "You still have to do the laundry and the cooking and the cleaning, but it's not like we are not chained to the kitchen sink. It's definitely not as much work as at home, and we do eat out quite a lot, too".
The benefits of their rental holiday far outweigh the fact that, even though they are away from home, they still have to manage busy households. They love the fact that the children are out in the fresh air all the time, mostly on the beach, instead of with their noses stuck to computers. "They definitely seem to grow more over the holiday," says McDonald, who has four children. "It gets us out of the hustle and bustle of the city. We keep the TV down, and there are no computers, so they really get a different experience from home.
"What we really wanted to give them were the holidays we remember from childhood - beautiful beaches and great memories - and we get it all renting these houses," she adds.
According to Self Catering Ireland, the numbers of Irish people opting for this kind of holiday accommodation in Ireland has increased significantly in recent years. Public relations consultant Puffin Moynihan regularly rents a cottage in Co Wicklow with her 16-year-old daughter, who loves it just as much now as when they first started renting.
"I often compare it to having a grandchild. You get to have all the fun of the house without any of the responsibility," she says. "I love the fact that I can enjoy the house and the surrounding area and don't have to worry about any long-term maintenance. I just close the door behind me and forget about it until I come back."
There is a freedom in renting, she adds, and even though the house is a relatively short drive from her home in Dublin it feels "like it's a million miles away . . . I really feel like I get a break. In a hotel, you have to see people when you get up. But in the cottage, I don't have to worry about going down to breakfast without my make-up on. You don't have to see anyone through the whole holiday if that's what you want."
Moynihan secured her cottage through Adams and Butler, a Dublin marketing agency dealing with everything from the quaintest cottage to the trendiest apartments and most lavish castles. Managing director John Colclough says the market is buoyant at the moment. "Our turnover is up on last year, but a lot of it is last minute. In the past, the notion of phoning on a Friday to book a weekend in a place was unheard of; these days it happens all the time. I just got a last minute booking from a woman in Dallas who is renting a castle for herself for a week in August," he says.
Another client, David Wilkinson from Kilmacanogue in Co Wicklow, lives in London but has been returning to self-catering accommodation in Westport, Co Mayo for the past 40 years. Now general manager of the Dorchester Hotel in London, he has fond memories of childhood visits to the area where he had strong family connections. He used to rent a cottage, but in recent years has stayed in the Harbour Mill, a development of luxury holiday apartments just outside the town, with his wife. "I enjoy the peace and tranquility and the freedom. In self-catering accommodation, you can do your own cooking, but it is incredible how many restaurants there are in Westport now. Eventually, we would like to buy our own bit of land and a cottage here," he says. This is not the Wilkinson's only holiday - they went to Barbados for a week before travelling to Ireland - and the fact that people are taking more holidays now is a boost for the self-catering industry.
"Irish people are taking more and more holidays now than ever before, and are often taking two to three short breaks in a year," says Mary Power, managing director of Self Catering Ireland.
"More and more people - particularly young families - recognise the convenience and independence that comes with spending these breaks in self-catering accommodation within Ireland." And, like O'Grady and McDonald, they will keep coming back, whatever the weather.
