We loved John and Cate's place. They lovingly restored an old stone farmhouse, and it's beautiful! They were super kind and interesting folks, and we really enjoyed hanging out with them. They built their own living space, directly attached to the rental location, but you feel like it's completely detached due to the heavy stone walls. You can't hear anything between the two dwellings.
Directions were specific, and check-in was simple. It was basically whenever you get there and the key's in the door. They came out to meet and greet us.
There are two bedrooms upstairs, and the beds were good, with nice heavy comforters. Consequently we slept soundly, especially with all the solitude.
Kitchen is equipped for any cooking you might desire. There are some community items like spices, coffee, olive oil, etc. They are diligent about conservation of resources, so you have bins for recyclables and compost. Water is from a clean source up the mountain and we drank it.
They provided some nice little touches which I'll not divulge so as not to ruin the surprise.
They have a big wood stove and offer plenty of fuel in case you want to have fires. We didn't as the weather was warm the whole time.
There's a nice sitting area by the wood stove and an entirely separate sitting room with two huge comfy couches.
They have an interesting library of books on many topics, as well as numerous books on Ireland history, travel, stories, etc.
If you enjoy cats, as we do, there are petting/scratching/loving opportunities outside. If you don't, well then just ignore them.
Note about wi-fi - there's a wireless repeater to the right of the refrigerator, plugged into the wall by the breakfast nook. If you can't get a signal check to see if the receptacle is switched on. It was not and we were a bit confused about exactly where to find it. It was in the guest instructions, but I was looking in the wrong place.
Note about interior access - the passageways to the sitting room and the two bedrooms upstairs are low. They restored the cottage as it was originally, so you have to duck down to enter them. Also, the stairs going up are narrow and curve at the bottom. If you have serious mobility issues it could be an issue for you, but if you're healthy and can stoop down a bit it's not a problem. They tell you about this in the listing and this is just a reminder.
Note about location - you can walk out the driveway and down the road, maybe 15 minutes, and you'll come to a car park at a trailhead for Lake Annascual. You can walk up and over the mountains right there or just up to some beautiful waterfalls. We went near the top but did not go all the way to the other side becausewe had originally intended to just go for a one hour walk but kept going for a few hours because it was so beautiful. What a gem of a location they have!