View Christy Tighe video - in conversation with Brian Leyden.
Christy was born just a few hundred meters from Cromleach Lodge. He always had a love for his native region of Sligo and appreciated the wonderful landscape even at a very young age.So when he and Moira decided to marry this was the obvious location for their home.
They married in 1977 and very soon identified the tourism potential of the Lough Arrow region,
In 1978 they opened their home as a bed & breakfast catering mainly for anglers coming to fish the Mayfly on Lough Arrow and surrounding lakes.
Over the coming years while Moira concentrated mainly on cooking, Christy was the public face of Cromleach Lodge – meeting and greeting guests and advising on anything from choosing the best wine to compliment Moira’s fine food, choosing the most suitable fly for the day’s fishing conditions or recommending a nice walk.
Having a technical background, Christy was responsible for the design and construction of the various stages of the development of Cromleach Lodge over the years. The unique design of the most recent expansion is testament to his & Moira’s respect for the natural landscape of the area – resulting in a “village” style development with low interrupted roof lines hardly noticeable on the skyline.
“We were very careful not to construct a very dominant building in such a beautiful area. We also very much wanted to maintain the small hotel “homely” feeling - as close as possible to what we’ve always had and we are happy that we’ve done just that, and of course Moira did a great job on the interior design for which I can claim no credit at all.”
Although Moira is the better known half of the team she says “Christy played no small role in their success over the years”. Whichever one is responsible they were showered with accolades and awards including:
Irish Hotel of the Year 1992 & 1999
Irish Dessert of the Year 1994 & 1995
Irish Restaurant of the Year 1996
Moira was Irish Chef of the Year in 2000
Irish Hideaway of the Year in 2004
The appointment of a General Manager, Nicholas Ryan, in 2008 has given Christy more time to spend looking after the large gardens, chatting with guests and advising on day trips, local walks, etc.
Both he & Moira are seasoned walkers, which together with gardening is still their main hobby.
In fact on certain days they invite guests to join them on some of their favorite walks.
Christy & Moira have two sons – David 29 is a Restaurant Manager in Los Angeles and Derek 25 is a Restaurant Manager in New York. It must be in the genes!!