‘Time behaves differently here,’ says Aoibheann MacNamara of Summerage, a lovingly restored Irish farmhouse offering a cosy escape close to nature for city and country dwellers alike. For MacNamara, this is the culmination of a trilogy dedicated to slow living, joining her celebrated Galway restaurant, Ard Bia at Nimmo’s, and a sustainable fashion initiative, The Tweed Project.
Step inside the Summerage at The Burren
Located within the wind-lashed expanse of The Burren, a Unesco Geopark in County Clare, southwest Ireland, Summerage spans 32 acres of ‘glaciokarst’ terrain (shaped by both glaciers and water), allowing pure stillness of a fervent restorative quality. ‘External distractions fall away, and a calmness settles on you,’ MacNamara explains. At its core, the Summerage experience is driven by a desire to foster connection, creativity, and wellbeing – ‘a place of calm in a very busy world.’
Acquired in 2018, the early 20th-century farmhouse was reimagined in collaboration with Michael Haslam of ecological architecture practice Haslam & Co Architects. ‘The interior design vision is inspired by my friend, interior designer Irenie Cossey of London-based Irenie Studio,’ says MacNamara. The result is a melodic balance between preservation and modernity, restraint and comfort – as exemplified by the endemic lime-rendered dark-grey walls and rich red roof.
The interior is infused with warmth through bold accents of red and yellow, a nod to Le Corbusier, paired with relaxed furnishings like Vitra Eames chairs, a BoConcept ‘Osaka’ sofa, and Charlotte Perriand’s ‘Applique à Volet Pivotant’ wall light – all sourced from London’s Twentytwentyone. Soft lighting of an ethereal quality highlights details such as the yellow-grouted tiles in the sleek, minimalist bathroom.
Collaborating with Forestry Ireland and The Burrenbeo Trust, Summerage also acts as an ongoing project for biodiversity, through the restoration of the former woodland and the planting of native trees and a fruit orchard in addition to the existing hazel forest. The retreat also features an onsite kitchen garden and greenhouse for the growing of vegetables, overseen by horticulturist Ciara Parsons. Guests are invited to harvest organic produce and enjoy honey from the onsite apiary, maintained by beekeeper Mark Early of Open Hiv.
In addition, as MacNamara points out: ‘There is a wonderful supply of local ingredients in the region, [such as] the local markets of Ennistymon, Hugos Bakery in Lahinch, and oysters from Flaggy Shore in New Quay.’
Sleeping up to four guests, Summerage is intimate yet expansive, a short drive from the Poulnabrone Dolmen and the coastal village of Ballyvaughane. The cottage’s connection to nature is rooted in The Burren’s ancient ‘winterage’ farming tradition, where livestock graze uplands in winter, preserving biodiversity and promoting rare flora.
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