Bed and breakfast establishments abound throughout the 32 counties of Ireland. Tourism Ireland’s website, discoverireland.com, lists 2890 farmhouses, country homes, townhouses, manors, and other types of lodging under the heading of “bed and breakfast.” The visitor to this island country can be assured of finding accommodations to his liking among these choices.

A bed and breakfast is a type of lodging which provides a private room at night and a home-cooked meal to start the day. Most rooms are ensuite, having their own private bathrooms. These features distinguish Ireland’s bed and breakfasts from lodging which allows guests to self-cater, or provide their own meals, or which has bathrooms which must be shared by more than one guest.

Some of Ireland’s bed and breakfasts are hundreds of years old and steeped in history. The Castle in Castletownshend, County Cork, overlooks Castlehaven Harbour and was built over a span of a century from 1650 to 1750 by the Townshend family. The Old Cable Historic House in Waterville, County Kerry, built in the mid 1880's, has a history which coincides with the laying of the transatlantic cable establishing telegraph service between the United States and Ireland.

Every architectural style is represented among the bed and breakfasts of Ireland. Though the structure may date from an earlier time, these lodgings have been refurbished to provide the guest modern comforts while surrounded by historical or vintage furnishings. Clonalis House in Castlerea, County Roscommon, is a Victorian Italianate mansion built in 1878 for the O’Conor family whose ancestors were the High Kings of Connacht. Blairs Cove House in Bantry, County Cork, was constructed in the Georgian style in about 1760. Cloonmonad House in Westport, County Mayo, is an example of a modern style bed and breakfast with dormers.

Many bed and breakfasts are in close proximity to Ireland’s most visited historic sites. A guest staying at Woodgate House on the Station Road in Blarney, County Cork, can walk to the Blarney Castle in ten minutes. Williamsferry House on Fintan Lawlor Street in Nenagh, County Tipperary, is within a sixty minute drive from three castles: Bunratty, Birr, and Roscrea Castles. The bed and breakfast is also within driving distance of Rock of Cashel with its 12th and 13th centuries chapel and cathedral.

If a visit to one of Ireland’s larger cities is what the traveler wishes, cities like Dublin, Galway City, and Cork City and their suburbs have a large number of bed and breakfast establishments. Some, like O’Neill’s Victorian Pub and Townhouse on Pearse Street in Dublin, have their rooms next door to or above a pub.

The bed and breakfast farmhouses usually offer opportunities not found in city lodging places. The Rock Equestrian Farm in Bailieborough, County Cavan, offers guests horse riding holidays. The Invicta farmhouse outside Killarney, County Kerry, has boats from which guests may explore and fish Lower Lough Leane.

Wherever the traveler may wish to stay, Ireland has many bed and breakfast establishments for every taste.