We were traveling to Ireland for the first time and we decided to stay in central Ireland where we could basically get anywhere within a 1 or 2 hour drive. We were so glad to find Kinnitty and it's people. Jimmy was a perfect host and everyone in town knew Jimmy. We were a party of 3 women traveling together so each of us had a bedroom and bathroom to ourselves (we didn't use the downstairs bedroom). We all commented on how comfortable the beds were and we all slept well. The kitchen had all of the basics and Jimmy made sure we had fuel for the fireplace. The babbling brook next the house was so calming while we sipped our coffee in the mornings. We had a great time getting to know the residents of Kinnitty at the Slieve Bloom Bar which is literally outside of the front gate. Everyone was so welcoming even though we crashed a couple of the local birthday parties at the bar. We drove to Galway, Waterford and Dublin from our home base in Kinnitty and most were within 2 hours. Note there are no restaurants in Kinnitty (except at Kinnitty Castle) but there were some great places in Birr which is about a 10-15 minute drive. Kinnitty has two bars, two general stores and two churches (one Catholic and the other Protestant). We learned so much from the locals about their economy, church and state. If you really want to feel Ireland, stay here.