Dooneen Lodge is in Mungret, a suburb of Limerick, about a 10 minute drive from the city’s center. This was the warmest welcome we received in all of Ireland, and that’s saying a lot. Noreen and Tom O’Farrell are some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. Dooneen Lodge is typical of many Irish B&Bs that are family homes whose children have grown and moved away, leaving empty bedrooms to be filled by travelers like you and me. Our party of six took all three rooms, and all three were well-kept and homey. The home is decorated with many of Tom's oil paintings (he's an accomplished painter of still-lifes, scenics and portraits).

We arrived late and Noreen immediately offered us an Irish coffee, and to do a load of laundry (which she did, and hung it on the line the next day and folded it for us when it was dry) -- don’t expect this service; I think this was unusual, as she was about to do a load of her own. In any case, it was above and beyond expectations.

Two rooms had “ensuite” showers; one room had a sink in the room, with a bathroom across the hall. That bath had both a tub and shower, but when my daughter wanted to take a bath she found the cold water didn’t work in the tub. Tom said they never used the bath because it used up all of the hot water, but he then proceeded to fill the tub with buckets of cold water before adding the hot (which points to how extraordinarily helpful this couple could be – you really feel like a guest). My wife particularly liked the linens, but the bed was a little hard for my tastes and I could have used a blackout curtain, as mornings come very early in Ireland in the summer.

The breakfasts were excellent. We stayed two days and got to sample the traditional Irish breakfast, the best and creamiest porridge in Ireland, and pancakes (a welcome change).

Noreen was free with tips on where to eat in Limerick, pointed us to Dolan’s pub (a good music venue), and suggested a change in our itinerary that would take advantage of the unusually good weather we were having.

I should also mention Billy, the O’Farrell’s mutt – such a friendly, comfortable dog that we would have loved to take him home with us.