Recently I traveled to Ireland with my family. Our ages ranged from 46 to 80. I am the eldest of 8 children and on this trip I was the designated driver for my Dad and my sister (3rd in line). The remainder of the group was made up of my three younger brothers, their wives and my youngest sister and her husband. The family arrived from the states about 9AM. Four cars were rented at the airport and off we went to begin our tour of Ireland. Starting in Powerscourt, having lunch, getting lost and seperated from the other three cars (cell phones very helpful to us) we finally landed on the Peg Butler's doorstep at Carrigeen Castle in Cahir later than anticipated. The remainder of our party arrived to late to eat but did enjoy pub hopping. I found Peg very helpful with advice just as an Irish mother would give. Drop your bags and get down to the town for something to eat as the resturants would be closing shortly. The food in town was wonderful. I found the Castle to be great. The third floor had the best view and the most comfortable bed. In fact it was the only bed that I slept well in during the entire trip. I had told David that Dad had no trouble with stairs and even after Dad told me about his knees not being as good as they were he loved that top floor. I had an opportunity to talk with Peg about our trip plan and received good advice to take the ferry from Tarbert to Killimer after we left the Dingle Pennisula on our way to Clifden. Carrigeen Castle is a place to stay if you want a truly unequaled experience of Ireland and its' varied people.

I have never stayed at a B&B prior to this. We arrived at the Castle four hours late on a Sunday night (no less). We should have tried to contact the owners to let them know we were running late, always think of this after the fact. My 80 year old father was in a room on the top floor with myself and sister in another room. These rooms used to be cells and it was a lot of fun staying in them. I asked my father about the spiral staircase and he stated that he enjoyed being on the top floor and that the view was spectacutar. Peg and David were concerned about our late arrival more due to us not being familar with the roads. Breakfast was more than I was expecting but very good and Peg and David were very understanding in my wanting less the next morning. They also provided us with information on places to see in and around the area. My sister and I were even given a brief history of the town and Castle which was very interesting. During the whole trip I believe Cerrigeen Castle was one of the best places we stayed and I would love to return someday.
Nancy Goldberg

Peg and Son are quite the characters - be careful what you say - no senses of humor here. We were scolded for showing up late, for asking for a good room, for not eating all our breakfast, etc. The castle itself is lovely and the town is very charming but even the locals will tell you that the owners are crazy. If you can tolerate their irritable personalities, then your stay will be pleasant. We were traveling with my 80- year old father and she put him on the 3rd floor with many stairs and put the married couples in rooms with twin beds - not receptive to our needs at all - we seemed to be a bother to her. Just not a pleasant stay for the money.

We were met at the door by David, who seemed just a tad irritated that we got there early, but was very pleasent after that. He showed us the TV room and sitting room, where we could get coffee and tea at our pleasure(never saw any hot water tho), then showed us to our private rooms on the 3rd floor, which we found to be quite comfortable and adequate. A bit tricky carrying our bags up, but other than that it was wonderful. Friendly, courteous, and informative. Breakfast was quite filling and very tastey. Overall we had a great 2 night visit.