Rural tourism winners announced

Last Tuesday night at the AIB Bank Centre in Ballsbridge, Dublin, Minister for Agriculture Food and Rural Development Joe Walsh presented the prizes to the winners of this year's AIB/Irish Farmers' Journal Rural Tourism Awards, writes Mairead Lavery.

Altogether, there were five categories up for adjudication, including, Country Homes, Self-Catering, Farm Guesthouse, Rural Tourism Group and Small Business.

The winning entrants were located the length and breath of the country, from Islandmagee in Antrim to Schull in West Cork and from Cleggan in Galway to Inch in Wexford.

The prize winners were as follows:

Country homes

Myrtle and Bertie Hemphill of Rossaweer Country House, Irvinestown, Co Fermanagh ö National and Ulster winners of this category.

Loretta and Michael O'Malley of Harbour House, Cleggan Co Galway ö Connacht winners.

Mark and Emma Hewlett of Kilmokea Country Manor and Gardens, Campile, Co Wexford ö Leinster winners.

Barbara Klotzer of Rock Cottage, Schull, Co Cork ö Munster winner.

Evelyn Campbell of Stranolor House, Stranolor, Co Donegal, and Dympna and Sean Casey of Hilltop Country House, Devlin Road, Mullingar, Co Westmeath, are both Highly Commended.

Self-catering

Myra and Derry Daly, with their development at the Courtyard, Blennerville, Co Kerry ö Munster and National winners of this category.

Liam and Eileen Duignan of Mayfly Lodge, Aughamore, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim ö Connacht winners.

The Brennan and Hughes families with their development, Wallslough Village, near Bennettsbridge, Co Kilkenny ö Leinster winners.

Caroline and Peter Steele of North Irish Lodge, Islandmagee, Co Antrim ö Ulster winners.

Chris and Valerie Keogh of Tibradden Farm Cottages, Rathfarnham, Co Dublin, and Tom and Marietta O'Dowd of Killeshandra, Co Cavan, are both Highly Commended.

Farm guesthouse

Anne and Peter Donnelly of Perrymount Farm, Inch, Co Wexford, are the National Winners of Farm Guesthouse for 2001.

Bernadine and James Mulhall of Coolanowle House, Ballickmoyler, Co Carlow win the National runner-up award.

Elizabeth and Wilfred Garland of Rosefield Farm House, Corbeg, Co Monaghan, take the second runner-up prize.

Brid and Jim Fitzpatrick of Glenraha Farmhouse, Mullinavat, Co Kilkenny, are Highly Commended.

Rural tourism group

Carlow Rural Tourism is the National winner and Knockatallon Community Development Group Ltd from Co Monaghan, take the National runner-up award.

Small business

The joint National winners in this section are Mary and Seamus Wall of Hanora's Cottage, The Nire Valley, Co Waterford, and David and Veronica Smyth of The Rally School Ireland, Scotstown, Co Monaghan. "For farmers under 45 hectares, the percentage increase in the proposal over the IFA's agreement is between 60 and 80 per cent. Since almost 80 per cent of hill farmers have less than 45 hectares, this means that the vast majority of farmers will receive, under my proposal, an increase of in excess of 60 per cent," he said.