Fitzgeralds Hotel Donegal

No vacation in Ireland would be complete without visiting the rugged and beautiful North West of Ireland. Co Donegal is one of the relatively unspoilt regions still left in Ireland where traditional skills are alive and well. A walk, cycle or drive along winding country roads is filled with the scent of broom, fuschia and honeysuckle in the hedgerows, turf fires from nearby homes and of course the wonderful bracing sea air.

Traditional Donegal Thatched Cottages

The cottages are neatly white-washed, each with a traditional half-door, designed to keep the animals out and the people in.

The roof of each cottage is thatched in the distinctive rounded Donegal style, tied down securely with rope and pegs to protect the thatching from the fierce westerly winds off the ocean.

Each cottage recreates a different era of Irish history (from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries) and is filled with household implements, kitchen utensils, furniture, pictures, and clothing brought from all the surrounding homes of the valley. In addition, there is a reconstructed school house, sheebeen (pub), and a tea room/craft shop displaying the works of local artists, knitters, and weavers. Designed, assembled, and maintained by the local people, this folk village is one of Ireland's best living-history museums.

Glencolmcille, Co. Donegal, Ireland
Tel: +353 (0) 74 9730017 or 9730334

There are of course many thatched cottages throughout Donegal that are still lived in, although primarily maintained for the self-catering tourism market. In a 21st century context, these cottages maintain the tradition of Irish thatched cottages throughout the land - warm in winter, cool in summer and a door always open to welcome the traveller.