Our Youngest Guest at Renvyle House

We are delighted with our latest arrival at Renvyle House.  Between the 7 gaggle of geese at Renvyle we have one, bright yellow gosling!  We're hoping there may be other siblings or cousins to follow.

The ducks are also hiding away so we hope to have some photos of their little families soon.

Spring is certainly in the air, the carpet of blue in the woods at Renvyle House , kindly provided by pretty bluebells.  A perfect backdrop for any wedding couple or family photo at the moment.

Food and Wine Weekend Success

A Full House for International Food and Wine Weekend
at Renvyle House, Connemara

A full house, fine weather, a seven course banquet on Saturday night together with a superb selection of wines was had at the Renvyle House Food and Wine Weekend last weekend. Renvyle House Hotel and Galway city wine distributors J&C Kenny joined forces to stage a very successful weekend with talks and wine tastings culminating in a super banquet on Saturday night.
J&C Kenny brought award-winning producers from Tres Palacios vineyard in Santiago and Carrille vineyard in Saint Emilion, Bordeaux to Renvyle House Hotel to participate in a weekend of wine tastings and talks.  Also represented were vineyards from Calamar from Spain, Sensi from Italy, Chakana from Argentina and Graf Josef from Austria.
Executive Chef at Renvyle House Hotel, Mr. Tim O'Sullivan and Chief Executive Mr. Ronnie Counihan hosted a seven course banquet on Saturday night with wines carefully selected from the visiting producers and were matched by Elizabeth Fox, lecturer at GMIT and Chris Harrison from Select Wines in Dublin from the wine producers represented team at Renvyle House.

The Menu for the evening with matching wines are below:

Dinner Menu
Saturday 24th March, 2012

Wines generously sponsored by J&C Kenny, Galway.

* * * * * * *
Prawn & Asparagus Risotto
Garlic & Tomato Dressing

Accompanying Wine: Graf Josef Grüner Veltliner (Austria)

* * * * * * *
Potato & Spinach Soup

* * * * * * *
Salmon Gravlaux
Dill & Anchovies Potato Salad
Beetroot Chutney, Avocado Mousse

Accompanying Wine: Famille Excellor Entre-deux-Mers (France, Bordeaux)

* * * * * * *
Apple & Calvados Sorbet

* * * * * * *

Parcel of Irish Beef Fillet
Wild Mushroom & Pate Stuffing
Garden Vegetables, Red Wine Jus

Accompanying Wine: Chakana Reserve Malbec (Argentina)

* * * * * * *
Strawverry Tartlette
Chantilly Cream

Accompanying Wine: Veuve D'Argent Sparking Rose (France)

* * * * * * *

Cheese Platter
Tipperary Brie
Crozier Blue
Oak Smoked Gubbeen
Knockanore Black Pepper & Chive
* * * * * * *
Petit Fours
Tea, Coffee, Herbal Teas

Re-Opening!

After a couple of months of cleaning, polishing, repairing, maintaining, replacing and painting....we're re-opening today!  The house is not the same without lots of people in it and we are thrilled to be expecting our first arrivals of 2012 this afternoon.

We have a sample of behind the scenes photogprahs of some of the work undertaken this year.  Along with some photos of what nature provides, year after year, with less care from us but giving equal enjoyment to the beholder.

We have a great line-up of activity breaks coming up in March alone which include a Murder Mystery Weekend this weekend, A Digital Camera Workshop Weekend on the 9th & 10th of March.  The 23rd & 24th bring you an international Food & Wine weekend which has been a great success over the last couple of years.

We have also joined Pinterest with board of recipes, things to do, garden ideas, information on the architecture of the house and more.  We would love feedback on what would be of use to you when planning a holiday with us and we'll collate that information.

Recipe for Tim’s Carrot and Orange Soup

 It's still chilly enough in the evenings, but delighted with the extra daylight to get out and about.

 Here's a lovely recipe for a lighter soup, great at this time of year...

Carrot and Orange Soup

(c) 'At Home in Renvyle' by Tim O'Sullivan

Ingredients

30g butter
400g carrots, diced
400g onions, sliced
1.2 litres of chicken (or vegetable) stock
1 orange rind and juice
salt and pepper to season
half pint of cream

Method

Melt the butter in a large pot, add the carrots and onions and cook until soft.  Add stock and bring to the boil.  Simmer for 30 minutes.
Allow to cool, then puree in a blender.  Add the juice and orange rind.  Return to the pot and reheat gently.  Add cream and season to taste.

Serve with crusty white bread

The Gathering 2013

We've heard some talk of a great reunion of Irish people from all around the world taking place in Ireland in 2013. 

This year long celebration is called 'The Gathering 2013'.  With 70 million Irish descendents worldwide this should make a great party!

The National Archives provide a great online service for you to check your lineage from the 1901 census and the 1911 census, this is free for your use - all you need is some time.  There are also geneology services which will be able to delve deeper into your family tree should you wish to find out more.

On the National Archives website there are features written on aspects of life in Galway and Connemara in the early 20th Century.  If you scroll down that link you will see information convering the Galway to Clifden Railway line which was built in 1895.  It also features information on the Marconi wireless and telegraph company which established the first commercial transatlantic telegraph service, connecting Clifden to Glace Bay in Nova Scotia in 1907.

Some of the families from the 1901 census on the Renvyle Peninsula include Blake, Connely, Coyne, De Morgan, Flaherty, Hare, Loughlin, Rane, Ribbon, Salmon, Kilcoyne, Heanue, Conneely, Faherty, Malley, Connolly, King, Cannon and Connis.

'House 1' in Rusheenduff was Renvyle House Hotel and there are details of all who were in the house the night the 1901 census was taken, their ages and their titles.

The 1901 Census Page for Renvyle House Hotel  Click >> HERE

There is also a very interesting book on line for the Renvyle Blakes (1600 to 1700) - for any Blakes doing research.  Click >> HERE

We will be doing more research in the coming weeks but if you have time, enjoy looking into your family background in the meantime.

Map of the Renvyle Grounds

A lovely map of the grounds at Renvyle House Hotel designed by Sophie Coyle, who also designed our Herb Garden 5 years ago.  This map gives the layout of where everything is and most of the activities that are free to our residential guests during their stay with us.

We will printing this in the new year so you will have it to hand when you are staying with us.

View PDF Format of this Map

All gearing up for Christmas

Getting Geared-up for Christmas

The Chimneys have been cleaned.  The floors are being polished.  The Barrels are being filled with turf.  Santa has confirmed he will be with us on Christmas Day after his busy night - and he's looking forward to it.  The Carol Singers will be in as with the Wren Boys (and girls).  Food shopping list has nearly been finalised for the kitchens.  And bedrooms are being prepared for all our guests.

So all we need do is wait for all of you to arrive with your festive cheer (we're really looking forward to it)

Even the Ducks are getting into the spirit of things.....see the video clip below

Renvyle’s Recipe for Mince Pies

Some of our past guests are highly organised and are already preparing their larder for Christmas.  We have a great recipe for Tim's Mince Pies which, once made, can be frozen in batches and then cooked when required (impressing those pop-in guests over Christmas) - Delicious.

RENVYLE HOUSE MINCE PIES

taken from © “At Home in Renvyle”, 2005, On Stream Publications

450g mincemeat (see below)
1 egg white
caster sugar
shortcrust pastry (see below)

Shortcrust Pastry Ingredients

200g plain flour
½ teaspoon salt
50g lard
50g margarine
2 tablespoons water

Method:
Preheat oven to 220°c / 425°F / Gas 7
Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl.
Cut the lard and margarine into small cubes (1.5cm) and rub into the flour.
make a well in the centre and add the water, mixing to produce a soft dough.  Wrap in clingfilm or foil and chill until required.

Mincemeat ingredients
100g cooking apples, peeled and chopped
70g raisins
70g sultanas
50g currants
35g mixed peel
70g brown sugar
70g suet, finely chopped
10g chopped almonds
Juice and rind of half lemon
½ teaspoon mixed spice
1 tablespoon brandy.

Method:
Mince coarsely the apples, raisins, currants, sultanas and mixed peel.  Place in a bowl and add the sugar, suet, almonds, lemon juice and rind, mixed spice and brandy.  Mix all together.
This can be made one week in advance.  Store in tightly sealed jars.

To Finish the Pies:
Roll the pastry thinly and cut into rounds about 8cm for the pie bases. 
Line patty tins with these and fill about half their depth with mincemeat.
Cut out slightly smaller rounds for the covers.  Dampen the rims of the pie bases with cold water and place the cover on top, pressing the edges together lightly to seal them.
Make a small slit in the top of each pie, brush with egg white and sprinkle with caster sugar.  Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Remove and allow to stand for 2 to 3 minutes before removing from the tins.
Serve with whipped cream flavoured with vanilla.

Renvyle House at the Galway Races

Renvyle House sponsored a race at the Galway Races on Saturday 22nd October 2011.  A great day was had by all. 

The morning started off very grey, followed by torrential rain and was not looking well for an afternoon at the races.  One of our guests had checked the detailed weather forecase at about 11am and said it would clear at 2pm.  He was spot on! and when the race meeting commenced at 2.25pm it all looked brighter.  So after a delicious lunch in the Stewards Room we were all set for the afternoon.

The going was Heavy after the rain.  It did not deter our guests participating in a small Jackpot - which we were out of by the first race!  One or two of our guests had a few winners.  A couple had backed the winning horse, The Bishop Looney and the horse that came second An Blascaoid Mor in the Renvyle House Hotel Handicap Steeplechase. 

The day stayed dry and the punters were generally happy. 

Thank you to the Management and  Race Committee of the Galway Races for a most enjoyable day.

New Website

Well, after weeks of collating information, gathering photos and the 'behind the scenes crew' at Bookassist working away, we can finally announce that our New Website is up and running.

Be mindful that it is still nearly 'brand new' so we will have a few tweaks or changes to do in the next week, but overall we are very happy with it and we think it represents what the Renvyle House experience is.  

We really hope you will like is also and we would love your opinion on it if you have a couple of spare minutes (rare these days!):

• How easy is it to travel around the website? 
• Can you find the information you need for planning your next break with us?
• Is there something else we should have on it?
• What would you like to see on the website if it's not there already?