Tourism award for New Quay country house

A country house in New Quay with just four bedrooms has been honoured with a prestigious César award from a leading hotel guide in the UK and Ireland.
Mount Vernon, once Lady Gregory’s summer retreat on Flaggy Shore, where the Burren meets the sea, has been named Irish heritage house of the year in the 2011 edition of the Good Hotel Guide, which was published recently.
“Mark Helmore and Ally Raftery are generous hosts at this historic seaside villa. They have renovated the house beautifully, filling it with interesting objects. Guests are welcomed in warm, house-party fashion. Dinner is delicious,” said Desmond Balmer, joint editor of the Guide.
The Good Hotel Guide nominates 10 hotels every year for the award, named after César Ritz, the most celebrated of hoteliers. These are for a mixed selection of places each of which is considered to be outstanding in its own class.
As the proprietor of a small historic house, Ally Raftery said the value of this award cannot be underestimated.
“This is a very special award, one that we covet above all others because of the independent nature and philosophy of the Good Hotel Guide. Hotels are chosen on merit and cannot buy their way into this guide, which is why it is so important to the small hotelier,” she commented.
Mount Vernon was built in 1788 and has strong links to Irish history and culture. Originally erected for Colonel William Persse on his return from the American War of Independence, Mount Vernon was named to celebrate his friendship with George Washington.
During the 19th century, Mount Vernon was the summer home of Lady Augusta Gregory of Coole, who entertained many of the luminaries of the Irish Literary Revival at Mount Vernon including WB Yeats, AE (George Russell), Sean O’Casey, JM Synge and George Bernard Shaw.
In 1907, Lady Gregory gave the house to her son, Robert Gregory, as a wedding present and it was from here that he produced many of his fine paintings of the Burren landscape.
A feature from this period are the unusual fireplaces designed and built by his close friend, the Pre-Raphaelite painter, Augustus John.