Friar's Lodge
+2 photosAbout Friar's Lodge
Friar's Lodge is a Fáilte Ireland approved 4-star guest house in Kinsale, on the Cork coast, listed on Fáilte Ireland’s official register of quality-assured accommodation. It is a smaller, owner-run house of 18 rooms, the kind of place where you deal with the people who actually run it.
Traditional rooms with iPod docks, plus free Irish breakfast and a lounge with a fireplace.
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Claim this listingStaying in Kinsale
A colourful harbour town at the start of the Wild Atlantic Way, with a star-shaped fort over the water and Ireland’s best-known food scene for its size.
Kinsale sits where the River Bandon meets the sea, about 25 kilometres south of Cork city, a medieval port grown into one of the prettiest harbour towns in Ireland. It is the official southern starting point of the Wild Atlantic Way, so a stay here begins the whole west coast, and its narrow streets of galleries, boutiques and coloured houses reward walking with no plan at all.
For a B&B in Kinsale, food is the headline. The town is known as the gourmet capital of Ireland, a reputation built by the Good Food Circle of local restaurants since 1976 and celebrated every October in the Kinsale Gourmet Festival. A morning on the water, an afternoon at the fort and a table booked for eight is the shape of a good day here.
History runs deep under the prettiness. The Battle of Kinsale in 1601 changed the course of Irish history, two great forts still guard the harbour mouth, and the Lusitania was sunk off the Old Head in 1915, a story told in the signal-tower museum on the headland.
Things to do near Friar's Lodge
Charles Fort
A vast star-shaped artillery fort built in the 1670s and 1680s above the harbour at Summercove, one of the largest military installations in the country and among the best-preserved star forts in Europe. The ramparts give the classic view back over the town and out to sea.
The Scilly Walk
The waterside path from the town through the old fishing village of Scilly and on to Summercove and Charles Fort is Kinsale’s essential walk, about an hour each way with the harbour for company the whole distance. The Bulman pub at Summercove sits conveniently at the halfway mark.
The Old Head and the Lusitania
The Old Head of Kinsale runs nearly two miles into the Atlantic, and the Lusitania was torpedoed about 18 kilometres off it in May 1915 with the loss of 1,197 lives. The restored Napoleonic signal tower on the headland now houses the Lusitania Museum, with a memorial naming every soul aboard.
A harbour cruise
Scheduled cruises run from the quay through the near-landlocked harbour, past Charles Fort, James Fort and the marinas and up the Bandon river, with seals and herons as regulars. It is the easiest way to read the town’s geography and its history at once.
James Fort
Across the water on the Castlepark peninsula, the older, quieter pentagon of James Fort was begun in 1602, straight after the siege, with a blockhouse at the water’s edge. It is free to wander and its grassy banks make the best picnic spot in Kinsale.
The food scene
Restaurants, seafood bars and cafés pack a town of this size to a degree found almost nowhere else in Ireland, with the Good Food Circle’s October festival the high point of the year. Booking dinner ahead is simply part of staying here.
Sailing and the marina
The yacht club marina sits in the town centre with 200 berths in one of the most sheltered harbours on the coast, and visiting sailors are welcomed as temporary members. The forest of masts is half the town’s picture.
Getting to Kinsale
Kinsale is about 25 kilometres south of Cork city and roughly twenty-five minutes from Cork Airport, with Bus Éireann’s route 226 running roughly hourly through the airport to the city’s bus and rail stations. Driving from the city takes about half an hour on the R600. The town itself is compact and walkable, and parking near the harbour is the only thing worth planning ahead.
Booking Friar's Lodge direct, and what the rating means
A real, assessed guest house
Friar's Lodge holds a 4-star guest house rating under Fáilte Ireland's National Quality Assurance Framework, assessed against the bedrooms, bathrooms, breakfast and welcome rather than self-declared. It's an independent signal you can trust before you book, separate from any platform's own review score.
No fees, no middleman
Ring the owner, or use the contact details on this page, and arrange the stay with the house rather than through an app. No booking fee added to your bill and no commission taken from the owner, so the room rate you agree is the room rate you pay.
A better stay, direct
Owners answer the questions a booking platform never will: whether the room at the front is quieter, how early breakfast can be served, or where to park for a few days. Speaking to the house directly is how B&Bs in Ireland were booked for decades.
Still deciding where to base yourself? Browse more B&Bs in Cork.
Check availability at Friar's Lodge
Send the owner the details of your stay and they will come back to you directly. No booking fee, no platform in between, just Kinsale on the other end.
Friar's Lodge, common questions
Where is Friar's Lodge?
Friar's Lodge is at 5 Friars Street, Kinsale, Co. Cork (Eircode P17 VP77). Give the Eircode to your sat-nav to find the door.
How do I book Friar's Lodge?
You contact the owner directly, by phone or the enquiry form on this page. DirectBnB adds no booking fee and takes no commission, so you arrange the stay with the house itself and pay the room rate with nothing on top.
What star rating does Friar's Lodge have?
Friar's Lodge is a Fáilte Ireland approved 4-star guest house under Fáilte Ireland's National Quality Assurance Framework, and guests rate it 4.7 out of 5 across 142 Google reviews.
Is Friar's Lodge suitable for families?
Yes, Friar's Lodge is listed as family friendly. Ask the owner directly about room configurations and cots when you book.
How many rooms does Friar's Lodge have?
Friar's Lodge has 18 rooms. As a smaller, owner-run house it is worth booking ahead, particularly in summer and over weekends.
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