Cork woman prepares to open B&B in an ‘undiscovered’ area

A CORK ant who enjoyed a successful global career is following her dream and opening a B&B with a difference in her native Mitchelstown.

Ciara O’Brien has worked in London, Singapore and The Netherlands with various multinational companies, and most recently with Google in Dublin.

But she had a growing desire to work in an area that was more in tune with her love of the outdoors and to be more involved in her community, which eventually became impossible to ignore.

“During Covid, I moved back to Mitchelstown for the first time since college and decided to stay in Ireland. I ed Google in Dublin in 2021 working with their data centre operations globally, however, with all the uncertainty in tech I decided to make the jump in Spring, 2023, and pursue the B&B idea full-time,” said Ciara.

“I’d probably been thinking about it for five or six years, and what really gave me the momentum to do it was the period of WFH during Covid. 

Long 12-14 days sitting in an office, alone on endless Zoom calls - I realised I just didn’t want to do that any more.

“I love movement and exercise and being outdoors so it finally dawned on me that I needed to make the big change and see if I could live my life a bit differently!”

Ciara bought the property, an old farmhouse, in July, 2021 then spent a year on architect’s drawing, planning permission, etc. Work started in April, 2023, to transform ‘Barnahown’ into a four-bed guest house. There’s been a few ups and downs along the way, but everything is now on track to launch in May.

Her vision is to essentially put hospitality back into the hospitality sector.

“We have plenty of Airbnbs in this area but a lot of them now operate with a keybox/help yourself type approach which is fine for some guests but not all. 

I want to provide that more traditional welcome: to greet people in reception when they arrive, help them to plan their days, and taste lot of our local produce, and hopefully find some hidden gems along the way.

“This area in the Galtee/Ballyhoura region is beautiful but it’s not particularly organised in of itineraries for visitors - you really have to try and find your own way.

“I hope to be able to showcase lots of local businesses in food and beverage, plus culture and arts that people might otherwise miss.”

Hiking is Ciara’s ion, and one she’ll share with her guests.

“One of my biggest challenges so far was when a friend and I committed to climb Kilimanjaro to celebrate my 30th birthday. We spent about six months in training, successfully completing it with Pat Falvey’s team. Since then I always seek out challenge locations wherever I go, whether that’s in the Alps or there’s also lots of good climbing in Indonesia which I was able to do when I lived in Singapore.

“There are so many benefits to being out in nature - whether it’s a walk in the wood, to climbing to a mountain summit.

“It’s also something that’s free and can involve everyone young and old if you pick the right route. I’m obviously biased, but I think the Galtee/Ballyhoura region is one of the most beautiful and undiscovered areas of Ireland.”

Sustainability is at the core of everything she does, with the ultimate ambition to offer carbon-free holidays.

My dream for the business is to run at net zero: we do not use any excess carbon in allowing our guests to enjoy their time with us. 

"I’ve developed that tendency during my time working with PepsiCo and Unilever, where they really believed sustainable operations were important for the long-term viability of the company.

“I’m lucky with the retrofit in that I will be taking an 1800s house and retro-fitting it to current A-rated standard. That means heating, etc, should be more efficient to run via the solar s and heat pump.

“In addition, I’m installing EV charging points for cars so that people driving feel more able to venture into the countryside. And from day one we’ll be a no single-use plastic of packaging business - I think it’s much easier to start as you mean to go on versus trying to come back and correct things later.

“Fáilte Ireland provide great s around climate impact assessment for hospitality businesses which I’ve been able to avail of to help me plan things out.”

One area Ciara is naturally apprehensive about is the day-to-day running of the B&B, but she’s taken a hands-on approach to learn the trade.

I don’t have a hospitality background other than I know what I like as a tourist! So I’ve been trying to make the most of work experience opportunities which people have given me: from Deebert House Hotel in Kilmallock where the team were kind enough to take me in for breakfast prep and room change-overs, to Praline in Mitchelstown where I’ve been serving guests over the busy Christmas period to see how a well-run kitchen and guest experience is designed. This for me has been a highlight because I love to learn new things and see how I could re-apply them.

I’ll start out doing food myself so I can learn what guests want: whether it’s a full Irish or maybe they’d prefer a nice breakfast roll to go and bring a packed lunch with them. 

"Once I figure that out and we extend bedrooms then I will definitely be hiring a chef and hopefully also extending into a dinner service.

“We’re really lucky in this area to have so many award-winning food and beverage producers. I was recently doing the menu and I can get almost everything I need from within a 20km radius of the property, which is great from a transport and food miles perspective but I’m also proud to be ing local businesses,” she said.

With just weeks to go until Ciara opens the doors to welcome her first guests, she’s excited and energised and already has plans to extend to seven rooms in spring, 2025.