2024 Award Winners IRISH BREAKFAST AWARDS 2024 - IRISH BREAD AWARD

Castle Grove Country House, Letterkenny, Co Donegal

Simple as it may sound, The Irish Bread Award is one of our most important accolades. Originally the idea of Donegal native and former Director General of Bord Fáilte (now Fáilte Ireland) Matt McNulty - a man with great respect for all aspects of Irish heritage and culture - it recognises the value of this delicious mainstay of the Irish table, and reminds us that doing the small things well can have a big impact. This is very much the case at Castle Grove Country House, the beautiful period house overlooking Lough Swilly, where – instead of following the current practice of offering a selection of different breads to guests – they present just their delicious house bread, Guinness & Soda Bread, which is simple and memorable for its ‘just-baked’ freshness and texture as much as its flavour. Raymond and Mary Sweeney opened Castle Grove to guests in 1989 and it has always had a name for its food – especially seasonal produce from their own gardens and from the region. Now managed by their daughters, Irene and Karoline – who is a leading light in ongoing promotion of the region as food destination, through the developing Food Coast Donegal initiative - their philosophy is alive and well. And the bread is just right.