Welcome to Cromleach Lodge, Lough Arrow, Castlebaldwin, Co. Sligo
A lifetime of dedication to service and quality:
Moira and I welcomed our very first guests to Cromleach Lodge in 1978. It was at that time a very basic bed & breakfast. However, business grew quite quickly and by 1980 we had opened our tiny restaurant to the public.
Over the years we've grown considerably but we've never lost our genuine desire to ensure our guests enjoy their stay with us and leave with happy memories.
I think the pictures tell the story better than I can.
Over the years we've won many 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
and an award that we both like most of all
-
Irish Hideaway of the Year in 2004
These awards are all great and of course we're delighted to have been honoured in such a way but the best reward of all is to see so many guests returning to Cromleach Lodge.
We look forward to welcoming guests to Cromleach for many more years to come - you can be assured of our best attention at all times.
Christy.
Moira Tighe
View Moira Tighe video - in conversation with Brian Leyden.
Moira very quickly gained recognition locally, nationally and internationally for the excellence of her cuisine and the exceptionally high standard of housekeeping and service she provided in the small but very elegant Cromleach Lodge of that time.
In the early 80’s the bungalow was extended to accommodate 10 guest rooms and a larger restaurant. Further expansion was to take place over the coming years.
Despite the fact that Moira has never had any formal training, she was soon to become one of the most highly acclaimed and respected Chefs in Ireland. She set new standards of food quality, service, customer care and general hospitality management on the quickly developing Island of Ireland.
Moira brought many accolades and awards to Cromleach Lodge over the years 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
She was one of the first female chefs in the world to have achieved this level of success and in fact for a number of years Moira had an all female team in her kitchen – quite unique even to this day.
Moira was always keen to share her many talents & skills with the young people she employed and is responsible for training many fine chefs as well as service & accommodation personnel.
In more recent years Moira has eased herself out of the kitchen, but still works closely with Head Chef Lanka Fernando ensuring that the same high standards are maintained at all times.
She is constantly developing new recipes to ensure that her restaurant menu gradually evolves.
Moira is currently introducing a new dish each month - and can be seen preparing these on our video page.
She remains passionate about quality, not just of food but of all aspects of the hotel, especially in the area of hospitality, friendliness and making sure that a genuine warm welcome awaits all her guests.
Moira has always promoted the use where possible of local produce and has been a great supporter of small local producers, such as organic growers, cheese makers, etc.
She has recently teamed up with Yeats Country Foods to promote their range of organic milk, buttermilk and soft cheeses.
Moira & Christy have two sons – David 29 is a Restaurant Manager in Los Angeles & Derek who is 25 and a Restaurant Manager in New York. Quite obviously Moira’s talents have been passed on to the next generation so it’s looking good for the future of Cromleach Lodge.
Christy Tighe
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.