The Browne Family - Greeting Visitors for over 50 Years!
The Irish bed and breakfast lifestyle has been part of my life since I was a child. I was raised in a family B&B along with my two older brothers and two sisters. As the ‘baby’ of the family, I was introduced to the Bed and Breakfast business at a very young age. The B&B business has changed over the years, but in my experience the core values of the warm welcome and Irish hospitality remain steadfast in the Irish B&B.
Our B&B was called Edenvale Bed and Breakfast in Donegal Town. We had a dining area and guest lounge, which we all shared with our visitors. My parents shared an attic room which had a small door leading into the children’s room, leaving the other rooms for guests. I am sure they did not have much privacy with five children next door, but they never complained. There were only 4 guest bedrooms and none of them ensuite. I remember the day we had wash hand basins fitted in two of the guest rooms and my mother thought these were the height of luxury. At that time, they certainly were a real modern convenience.
The B&B business allowed my mother to spend summers at home with the children. She was very busy in the mornings doing breakfasts and tending to the rooms, but each afternoon we could spend real quality time together. When new guests would arrive, my mother greeted them at the door.
Uncle Audley Browne - 1942 - a poet who loved to entertain guests!
We loved meeting new people and as children we were lucky to meet people from all over the world. We would hear stories and life experiences of people from all walks of life. It expanded our horizons and ignited a love of travel in the family, which in later years would see my brothers, sisters and I living and working abroad and learning new languages.
B&B laundry had to be done every day. I will always remember playing in our yard and watching the rows and rows of pristine clean sheets and towels swaying in the breeze. My mother would watch the sky diligently for fear of a rain shower. We had no indoor tumble dryers in those days. When the rain did come, it was all hands on deck to quickly bring in all the newly washed linens before they got wet. On a sunny day, we knew it was going to be a busy day. As mum would say ‘there is good drying in that day’. Then the ironing would start and always with some good music playing in the background. Mum loves Elvis and she would say he made the ironing a pleasure and a lot faster!
This is me presenting an award to a B&B host in Dublin!
I left the B&B and Donegal to go to University, worked in England and Germany for several years, but came home in 2003 and have never left. I now live on the same street where I grew up with my husband and two young children of my own. My parents live next door in the same house that was our B&B and we could not be happier. My parents are retired for many years. As each of their children grew up, the number of guest rooms had to decrease. We were simply all getting too big to share one room! Eventually the B&B closed, but my parents kept on the tradition of greeting visitors to Donegal when they opened a restaurant in the town. We have so many memories of the restaurant…that is a whole other story for another day.
My sister Rosie - Promoting the B&B Experience in Paris!
Now working in marketing for B&B Ireland, I find it strange how fate seems to bring us back to our roots. My sister Rosemary lives in Paris and enjoys promoting the B&B product in France. My work with B&B Ireland has provided me with the opportunity to visit many B&B’s nationwide and I have made many new friends along the way.
From Noreen in Killarney who told me many stories of her early years working in the USA and as a champion Irish dancer. I enjoyed meeting Breda and Phyllis in Waterford who looked after me from the moment I arrived until the day I left, their kind hospitality is second to none. Enjoying Kathy’s lemon and blueberry drizzle cake in Killarney and Nicola’s delicious fresh fruit salad in Kilkenny, the B&B breakfast is hard to beat. And of course our friend Maeve from Tubbercurry, who has been passionate about B&B all her life. I have met many other B&B owners along the way and will tell you more about them in my next blog.
The home comforts and freshly cooked breakfasts will warm the hearts of any visitor, but for me the pleasure of meeting the B&B hosts and their families is what makes the B&B experience extra special. This makes my job at B&B Ireland such a pleasure, because when I talk about B&B and share the experiences with the world online, I know that what I say is the truth and based on many years of B&B memories that I will cherish forever. When I travel for work, mum still asks me ‘are you staying in a B&B or a hotel’, the answer is always B&B, to which she replies ‘that’s good, I know you will be safe and the B&B owners will take care of you’.