Ballaghtobin House, Dog-Friendly Accommodation, Co. Kilkenny
Ballaghtobin House, Callan, Co. Kilkenny
Phone: +353 (0)56 7725227
Website: www.ballaghtobin.com
e-mail: catherine@ballaghtobin.com
From the fertile agricultural region of Kilkenny springs a brand of hospitality that celebrates life with warmth and generosity. Nowhere is this more the case than at Ballaghtobin, the home of Catherine and Mickey Gabbett.
Catherine and Mickey are renowned for entertaining friends, colleagues and guests at this hugely impressive dog-friendly Georgian house on 450 acres of cereals, blackcurrants, Christmas trees and woodland. Everyone is treated with the same easy-going courtesy. Mickey farms in between driving in classic car rallies (he will show you his prized motors if you ask), while Catherine is the kind of person who puts you in a good mood.
Recently refurbished, the interior of Ballaghtobin House is furnished comfortably and to a very high standard. In the bedrooms the furniture is antique but the beds are new and there are televisions, tea and coffee making facilities, en suite bathrooms and a shower with oodles of hot water and hot towel rails in every room.
Ballaghtobin House is situated in a lovely quiet location surrounded by beautiful countryside; it is a peaceful place and ideal for those wishing to spend some time far from the madding crowd. The house is situated on an ancient site and there is a ruined Norman Church opposite the front door and some of the older buildings, including the dovecote and the kennels for the Irish wolfhounds, date back to the C17th. Sadly these are in disrepair but it is hoped that in time they will be brought back to their former glory.
In Springtime the grounds are covered with daffodils, many of which are most unusual as Mickey’s parents and grandmother were keen collectors. Ballaghtobin is very much a working tillage farm; it consists of three hundred acres of wheat, fifty acres of blackcurrants and twenty acres of Christmas trees. Mature trees dominate the views around the estate and there is an abundance of wildlife to be seen - but please remember to bring suitable footwear if you wish to go walking.
You and your dogs will enjoy a stay at Ballaghtobin!
