Fáilte Ireland 4 Star Approved

Accommodation: Self Catering
Guests: Up to 10
Rooms: 4 (2 x Family, 2 x Twin)
Bathrooms: 3
Rooms: Fully Equipped Kitchen, Dining Room, Lounge, Drying Room.

Features: Jacuzzi Bath, Secure Storage for Bikes & Boating Equipment, Laundry, Satellite TV (SKY), Central Heating.

Discover the magic of sleeping under an authentic old world thatched roof and warming your toes at a real wood-burning stove.

Visitors staying at Rampark Farmhouse will get the opportunity to step back in time when they step through the door. The thatched house, which dates to the 18th century, has been sensitively restored to provide first class self-catering facilities while retaining its unique character.

The cottage has a south facing garden, which overlooks the sea near Gyles Quay, with views of the Cooley Mountains to the front.

The house has four bedrooms and three bathrooms. The two family rooms and two twin rooms allow up to ten people to stay at Rampark Farmhouse making it an ideal house for families or groups.

The outhouses can be used for safe storage of equipment and there is a Jacuzzi bath for a well deserved soak after a day walking in the Cooley Mountains.

The kitchen is fully equipped with all the modern conveniences; dishwasher, microwave, fridge, freezer and coffee machine.

There are two TVs, one in the dinning room and one in the lounge. A wide range of channels is available from the Satellite TV decoder (SKY TV).

Although there was a dwelling on this site for over 500 years, the house in its present form was built in 1750 and the first occupant was Philip McArdle (1693-1784). It has been in the McArdle name ever since.

The house has an historic association with the so-called Land War of the 1880's in which Peter McArdle, great grandson of Philip, played an active role. Like many farmers of that time he did not live to realise the dream of owning his own land as he died in 1884. However his son Philip, on paying his last installment to the Land Commission, took possession of the land in 1919.

The farmhouse was also a safe haven for rebel forces during the Irish War of Independence (1919-1922) and the tragic Civil War that followed. Perhaps the most prominent figure to shelter here and in the adjoining outhouses was Frank Aiken, Commander of the local Republican Forces and later Chief of Staff. Mr Aiken went on to become Minister for Finance, Defence and Foreign Affairs as well as Tanaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) in successive Fianna Fail Governments in Dáil Éireann.

Some years after the Civil War of 1922/23 a commemorative poster of the first Dail was presented to Philip McArdle by Mr Aiken in recognition of his assistance during those troubled times. A copy of the poster now hangs in the lounge.

Following the Civil War Philip McArdle seldom if ever mentioned the events of these troubled times until his death in 1953, thus sparing his children the bitterness that effected so many other Irish families involved in this period of history.

In more peaceful times the McArdles were renowned for their farming methods and a number of prestigious awards won by them are displayed in the house.