Restored 200 Year Old Church
- The Space
A protected building and national monument, Bookeen Hall is a former Church of Ireland Chapel built in 1808. Part of the Dunsandle estate, the church was used for services by the estate’s Church of Ireland congregation. Built in stone, the rectangular hall with its large gothic windows and solid bell-tower can be seen across fields and woodland, making it a distinctive and well known local landmark.
It was deconsecrated in 1920 and exactly 200 years after it was built it was given a new lease of life and converted into a two bedroom home.
Inside the interiors are bright, open and contemporary. The church is comprised of a large open plan living /dining room and two bedrooms. The guest bedroom available to visitors has access to its own bell tower/reading room with great views of the surrounding countryside and private bathroom complete with claw-foot bathtub.
Bookeen Hall is situated on the edge of Dunsandle wood which has some great walking and running routes, which your hosts, both keen runners, would be happy to show you. Quiet and peaceful, it is surrounded by woodland, and fields full of cattle and sheep.
Easily accessible by car, Bookeen Hall is just 2 mins from the Dublin / Galway motorway (Dublin airport is 2 hours away); about 1 hour from Shannon airport; a 20 min drive from beautiful Galway city; and located just a 10 min drive from the neighbouring towns of Athenry and Loughrea, both of which have a good selection of cafes, restaurants, and bars, and good public transport links.
Enjoy our home baking with tea/coffee when you arrive and a continental breakfast each morning.
What to expect: a restored church – with a light, bright and homey feel to it. It’s also home to two dogs that can’t wait to meet you!
Overall Guest Satisfaction
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Bookeen Hall is a unique (in the true sense!) home you should try to stay in, if you can. The place itself is so special, the setting is gorgeous and the location is very convenient to many good day trips. Our hosts, Chris and Orla, are lovely and quite interesting. They made us feel so at home, and had lots of good travel suggestions. Our tea at greeting and breakfast were superb, and the bed was very comfy. Recommended without qualification!
April 2014 -
Staying at the restored church was relaxing, and great to see the beautiful work that Chris and Orla have done with the church. It was clean, private and homely I highly recommend staying here.
January 2014 -
We loved our stay with Chris & Orla. They are lovely people who made us feel perfectly at home for our first time in Ireland. The building is great, and for Christmas time fantastic decorated. We had some lovely talks around the fireplace. And we got some great suggestions for touring around the area. The church is in a wonderful location and ideally situated as a starting point for exploring the Western part of Ireland (the Burren, Galway, Cliffs of Moher). And finally we loved the breakfast. Summarized: Great place to enjoy Western Ireland in a fabulous building with wonderful hosts!
December 2013 -
We had such a wonderful time staying with Chris & Orla! Their place is spectacular! It was comfy & so luxurious. The property is so special, I am very glad we were able to stay with them for a night. And we really enjoyed spending time getting to know them & hearing their story of the property. Such a special place to stay with incredibly special people & their gorgeous dogs! We hope to come stay again!
December 2013 -
Lovely place and superb hosts!!!! we really enjoyed our stay with them, they are fantastic and took extremely good care of us making feel at home from the first minute.
And the house....amazing!!!
Certainly recommend and hope we can also come again.November 2013 -
Orla and Chris were fantastic hosts! As we didn't have a car, they were kind enough to pick us up in Galway. Even booked us a dinner reservation in the town nearby! Amazing home and room (it's even more beautiful in person than the posted pictures). Orla also made us a delicious breakfast early in the morning before our train back to Dublin. The biggest regret about the trip to Ireland was that we weren't able to spend more time with them. Highly recommended!
November 2013 -
A great place to stay!
October 2013 -
A really nice couple in a really unique home. Very accommodating and friendly. I would highly recommend this listing.
October 2013 -
We vacationed in Ireland for 15 nights, but only stayed with Chris and Orla the last two. It was such an amazing visit in their beautifully renovated and rebuilt home, a former church. They were such wonderful hosts, very talented and so interesting to talk with. We quickly fell in love with their doggies Munky and Mouse too. The home decor was inviting, tasteful and fun! We thoroughly enjoyed a nice walk in the country air, a warm fire, excellent food, and a comfortable bed in a spacious, but cozy bedroom with a windy stairway leading to its' own tower! The bathroom was beautiful too, spotless, with plush towels. It was all very clean! Our visit was peaceful and relaxing in a luxurious environment. Chris and Orla left us feeling pampered and our Irish holiday ended on a high note! Thank you both so very much! Slainte'! Maggie and Dean
October 2013 -
I can't say enough great things about our stay with Chris and Orla. They are such nice people and really made our stay enjoyable. It is such a unique place to stay and they've done a beautiful job renovating and decorating. There was a lovely breakfast for us in the mornings and they also helped us make a reservation for a restaurant in Loughrea that was delicious.
We loved their 2 dogs Munky and Mouse, they were so fun to play with.
Overall we had a wonderful time staying here and would love to go back back some day.
Thanks Chris and Orla!!
September 2013
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