A reason in itself for a visit to Kildare Town, Firecastle isn’t your usual type of place. First of all, check-in for overnight guests happens inside the kind of food shop that we would all love to find everywhere – stuffed full of the best of Irish artisan foods, complete with wafts of freshly brewed coffee and freshly baked bread. And that’s before you spot the sausage rolls, or the salted caramel whipped cream choux buns...
Firecastle opened in September 2020 as a family grocer, bakery, and cookery school and soon after added Rooms @ Firecastle, a collection of 10 beautifully decorated rooms overlooking St Brigid’s Cathedral. Although check-in happens in-store, entrance to the Rooms is adjacent with a separate secure entrance way with “Fire Castle Lane” picked out in meticulous floor mosaic. It gets its name from the lane that runs along the property and refers to the fire that St Brigid kept perpetually alight. The fire that is perpetually alight here now are the bakers’ furnaces turning out incredible tasting loaves and cakes.
The rooms are decorated in trendy hues of either deep teal or blush pink, combining contemporary art deco with just a hint of the gothic in both, to connect with the cathedral - of which each room has a wonderfully elevated view. There is space to spare here; high ceilings and large picture windows flood the space with natural light, but with plenty of subtle lamp light to soften the area around you for a comfortably cosy night’s sleep on luxuriously large beds with plump pillows and downy duvets. And everything smells amazing, as the use of Field Day natural scent diffusers in the rooms and communal areas ensure no stuffiness, just freshness. Wherever a window can be there is one: on the corridors overlooking a roof terrace, in the ceiling above the bathroom and the picture window in the bedroom with its own miniature Juliette balcony, all of which ensure that natural light floods in.
This is room-only accommodation but, if you are feeling peckish,a delicious breakfast is available from the grocery below to take away or to enjoy at a table in the covered outside eating area. A variety of filled freshly baked brioche baps, porridge, pancakes or those sausage rolls are all available along with barista coffee, tea and herbal teas. Freshly squeezed orange juice is also available in store too. Sister property, Hartes of Kildare (see entry), is suggested for dinner in the evening or for lunch. Alternatively, grab a takeaway from the grocery store, pick up some cutlery and scurry away to eat quietly in your room.
It’s hard not to fall in love with the uniqueness of Firecastle. Is it the location – everything is right on your doorstep, so you can park the car and never go near it again – the truly neighbourhood feel for the grocery/deli/rooms combo, the loveliness of the accommodation or the friendliness of those who make Firecastle what it is. It’s a little bit of everything, but more importantly, it makes people look at Kildare as a place worth coming back to and visiting again, making it that very rare of beasts: something that works for locals and visitors without compromising or pandering to either. It just is and what it is, is excellent.
