Hospitality Experience Inspired by Its Remote Island Location of Natural Beauty

FACT SHEET

PROPERTY NAME: Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites

TYPE OF PROPERTY: Award-winning Intimate Restaurant and Luxury Inn offering a unique hospitality experience inspired by its remote island location of natural beauty.

LOCATION: Inis Meáin Aran Islands Co Galway Ireland

YEAR OF OPENING: 2007

RENOVATIONS/ DEVELOPMENTS: 2008/2009/2010/2011/2013

TELEPHONE: +353 86 8266026 E-MAIL: [email protected] WEBSITE: www.inismeain.com

PROPRIETORS: Ruairi & Marie-Thérèse de Blacam

GENERAL MANAGERS: Ruairi & Marie-Thérèse de Blacam

HEAD CHEF: Ruairí de Blacam

FRONT OF HOUSE: Marie-Thérèse de Blacam

SOMMELIER: Saileog Lally

ARCHITECT: Shane de Blacam, Founding Partner of de Blacam & Meagher Architects, Dublin

INTERIOR DESIGNERS: Marie-Thérèse & Ruairí de Blacam

RESTAURANT CAPACITY: 16 guests

SUITES CAPICITY: 4x 50sqm suites and 1x 130sqm suite, sleeping 10 guests

OPENING TIMES: Seasonal from April to September inclusive Restaurant open for dinner Monday to Saturday inclusive

ATTRACTIONS: Hiking, Cycling, Historical Sights, Cultural Sights, Flora & Fauna, Atlantic Swimming, Fishing, Irish language interest

INCLUSIVE IN STAYS: Inis Meáin Exploration Kit including Cube bicycles, Steiner binoculars, baited fishing rod, Altadena backpack, ash walking sticks, beach towels, maps, nature guides, and books of interest. Inis Meáin Hotpot Lunch delivered daily. Many other special elements included also.

For further information contact: Marie-Thérèse de Blacam Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites Mobile: +353 86 3885576 E-mail: [email protected]

HISTORY

Although the Aran Islands have long been a highlight of a visit to Ireland, Inis Meáin, as the middle and quietest island, remains firmly off the beaten track.

The Aran Islands are famed for their unique and beautiful limestone landscape, and for being one of the most important strongholds for Irish culture. Ruairí de Blacam as a chef and a native of Inis Meáin had always thought of returning to the island later in life to open a small restaurant, so that he could live on the island and help others to discover it.

When factors were conspiring against opening a restaurant in Dublin, he decided to bring the Inis Meáin plan forward. With a local population of just 160, he quickly realised that in order to attract clientele to the island to visit the restaurant, he would need to provide equally enticing lodgings.

From a site of pure limestone rock, emerged the stone-clad building of the Restaurant and Suites, designed to camouflage with the lattice of stone walls covering the island.

Around this time Marie-Thérèse moved to Inis Meáin from her home county of Cork and got to work on designing interiors. The restaurant was the first part to be opened in July 2007. The first night’s guests included co-incidently an Irish restaurant critic, whose visit resulted in the Restaurant winning the “Newcomer of the Year” Award from Georgina Campbell’s Ireland Guide.

One of the opening media pieces in a prominent Irish broadsheet inadvertently prompted readers to believe that the suites were also completed, leading to 60 enquiries in one day for lodgings that were not yet plastered!

Spurred on by the demand and a steady trade of returning guests, Ruairí and Marie-Thérèse finished the suites gradually and continue to renovate and upgrade the five suites every winter.

Acclaim from The Financial Times and others have brought Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites to the attention of a discerning international clientele which continues to grow.

For further information contact: Marie-Thérèse de Blacam Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites Mobile: +353 86 3885576 E-mail: [email protected] OVERVIEWS

OVERVIEW – One Line Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites is an award-winning intimate restaurant and luxury inn offering a unique hospitality experience inspired by its remote island location of natural beauty.

OVERVIEW – 50 words Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites offers a unique hospitality experience with an award-winning restaurant and five suites inspired by their unusual surroundings in The Aran Islands. 13 miles off the west coast of Ireland into the open Atlantic, both island life and the Restaurant and Suites have been moulded by their exposure to the natural elements of their setting.

OVERVIEW – 100 words Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites is a unique dining and accommodation destination located on Inis Meáin, the middle and least visited of the three Aran Islands. The award-winning restaurant uses mainly ingredients from the island, including lobster and crab caught by local fishermen in currachs, and vegetables grown on-site using island seaweed as fertilizer. There are just five exclusive suites each with a continuous 10 meter long window providing an uninterrupted view of Inis Meáin, Galway Bay and Connemara. Included in all stays is the Inis Meáin Exploration Kit with specially sourced Cube Bicycles, Steiner Binoculars and fishing rods helping guests to explore the island’s extraordinary landscape. Ideal for peace-seekers and nature-lovers.

OVERVIEW – 350 words Inis Meáin is one of the Aran Islands strewn across Galway Bay, 20 kilometers off the west coast of Ireland. It is just 5 kilometers long and supports 150 inhabitants. Ruairí de Blacam is a chef and a native of Inis Meáin. He and his wife, Marie-Thérèse, have created an award-winning seasonal restaurant and suite accommodation on the island.

Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites’ aim is to enhance visitor’s appreciation of the island by providing a style of accommodation and dining that is complimentary to its unique and special location. The building was designed by de Blacam & Meaghar architects and is inspired by the surrounding landscape of the island.

The restaurant is contemporary in styling and has panoramic views of Inis Meáin, Galway Bay and Connemara. The main ingredients used in the restaurant are harvested from the island. Specialities include lobster and crab caught by local fishermen from currachs, the traditional island fishing boats. Vegetables, fruit & herbs are grown by the de Blacams using only island seaweed as fertilizer, and the shoreline and island paths are foraged for wild food.

For optimum relaxation there are just five exclusive suites. Each suite is a large open space with a hall, living area, en-suite sleeping area, exterior door and outside sitting area. A continuous 10 meter long window provides each suite with an uninterrupted view of Inis Meáin, Galway Bay and Connemara.

Custom-designed Cube bicycles, Steiner binoculars, ash walking sticks, fishing rods, and books of interest are provided in place of televisions to help guests discover the peace and quiet of the island. The uncluttered space is complemented by soft furnishings in natural fibres and tones, designed for relaxation and comfort after a day spent exploring outdoors.

Old traditions in farming, fishing, sport, and music are a large part of daily life. Irish is the first language of the islanders. Being the least visited of the Aran Islands, Inis Meáin offers the most peaceful and genuine experience of this unique landscape and culture. This tranquillity and simple way of living are what make Inis Meáin special. OVERVIEW – 500 words

The Location: Inis Meáin is one of the Aran Islands, 20 kilometers off the west coast of Ireland, in the Atlantic Ocean. The Aran Islands are famous for their unique limestone landscape, beautiful coastal scenery, wild flora and fauna, archaeological sites and authentic Irish culture and lifestyle. Inis Meáin, which is about 5km long and 3km wide, is the quietest of the islands, supporting just 150 inhabitants.

The People: Ruairí de Blacam is a native of Inis Meáin and an accomplished chef. He and his wife, Marie-Thérèse, who has a design background, have created a reknowned seasonal restaurant and suite accommodation on the island. Their aim is to enhance visitor’s appreciation of the island by providing a style of dining and accommodation that is complimentary to their very special location.

The building was designed by de Blacam & Meaghar (“the godfathers of contemporary Irish architecture” – Architecture Today) and is inspired by the surrounding landscape. The whole building is finished in handcarved local limestone to blend into the island terrain. The restaurant and all of the suites have panoramic views of the island, Galway Bay and the Connemara Mountains beyond.

The Restaurant: The main ingredients used in the restaurant are harvested from the island. Specialities include lobster and crab caught by local fishermen from currachs, the traditional island fishing boats. Vegetables, fruit & herbs are grown by the de Blacams using only island seaweed as fertilizer, and the island’s bounty is also gathered from the shoreline and inland paths. The restaurant was named as one of the 12 Best Restaurants of 2011 (globally) by Nicholas Lander, restaurant critic of the Financial Times.

The Suites: For optimum relaxation there are just five exclusive suites. Each suite is a large open space with a hall, living area, en-suite sleeping area, exterior door and outside sitting area. The uncluttered space is complemented by soft furnishings in natural fibres and tones, designed for relaxation and comfort. The 10-meter long continuous window in each suite is designed to bring the outside in, so that guests can appreciate the beauty of the island even from inside the suite.

The island terrain of cliffs, beaches, rock formations, dry stone walls and wild flower fields are best explored on foot and by bicycle. Custom-designed Cube bicycles, Steiner binoculars, ash walking sticks, fishing rods, and books of interest are provided in place of televisions to help guests to best explore the island’s beautiful landscape.

The Island: Old traditions in farming, fishing, sport, and music are a large part of daily life. Irish is the first language of the islanders and there is just one pub where locals and visitors gather. Inis Meáin has always attracted artists including the Irish playwright JM Synge who spent four summers on the island to find inspiration for his writing. The cottage where he stayed can be visited as well as many archaeological pre-christian sites like ring forts, beehive huts and old temples.

Being the least visited of the Aran Islands, Inis Meáin offers the most peaceful and genuine experience of this unique landscape and culture. Its tranquillity and simple way of living are what make Inis Meáin special, and Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites provides an ideal base from which to enjoy a break away to this completely different world.

For further information contact: Marie-Thérèse de Blacam Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites Mobile: +353 86 3885576 E-mail: [email protected] RESTAURANT

The restaurant is situated in the most elementary of natural environments where the combination of clean earth, water and air provide optimum conditions for the purest produce.

A four course dinner is served nightly created from the best ingredients that the island has to offer at any given time. Dinner is served at 8pm and is hosted by the owners. The restaurant seats just 16 guests. The space offers a taste-the-view dining experience with a sweeping expanse of glass revealing the surrounding island and ocean.

These elements of environment, food, space and service have been carefully married to provide a convivial atmosphere and a unique dining experience.

Vegetables, salads and herbs are grown on the site of the restaurant. Shellfish is caught around the coast of the island. Only wild Atlantic fish and homestead-reared meat is served. All of the ingredients from the island are presented as prime ingredients. Equal importance is placed on the tomatoes grown in the greenhouse outside the restaurant as the lobster landed on the island pier.

Because a visit to Inis Meáin should involve plenty of fresh air and island exploration, the four courses are substantial dishes suited to appetites developed after a day spent in the elements. A special taster dish begins and concludes the meal.

Each course has just two elements, one prime island ingredient and a second complementary element. These are presented in a clean, light and fresh way to accentuate the pure flavour of the prime island ingredients. Ruairí has developed this style inspired by the environment around him.

The de Blacams call this Elemental Eating and are launching it for the 2014 season, allowing them to focus more on prime ingredients from the island, including their own food growing and rearing.

The restaurant is open for dinner at 8pm from Monday through to Saturday nights inclusive. Advance bookings are essential. Dinner costs €60 per person.

Sample Dinner 1 —brown crab & cultivated rocket —pentland dell potatoes & grilled courgettes —baby lamb & minted peas —rhubarb soufflé & goat’s ice-cream

Sample Dinner 2 —lobster tail & wild garlic aioli —homeguard potatoes & baby onions —monkfish chop & sweet peppers —gooseberry tart & loganberry sorbet

Quotes “What is the best meal you ever had? A feast of fresh sea urchins at Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites in the Aran Islands.” Darina Allen, Ballymaloe Cookery School, Irish Independent

“Ireland’s Ultimate Destination Restaurant” The Irish Times

Overall Best Dining Experience in Ireland Award, Irish Hospitality Awards 2013

For further information contact: Marie-Thérèse de Blacam Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites Mobile: +353 86 3885576 E-mail: [email protected]

SUITES

The suites are designed to provide guests with an escapism experience from modern life and offer an entirely new hospitality concept inspired by their unique location.

There are just five private suites, each a minimum of 50 square meters and with a 10 meter expanse of glass revealing panoramic views of the island and sea. These expansive views are reflected in the suite interiors which feature wood, lime, stone, and wool.

The suites were created with two guiding goals – firstly to equip guests with tools to best discover the island environment outdoors, and secondly to offer optimum privacy, personal space and comfort indoors, to complement their island explorations.

Burren Suites These four suites are each 50sqm with a 10m long continuous window providing an uninterrupted view of the island and Galway Bay, stretching from the Connemara Mountains to Black Head in the Burren.

The sleeping area features a superking size, iroko bed and the granite tiled, Philip Starck bathroom has a wetroom Swadling power shower.

The living area includes a couch with cashmere aran-patterned cushions and iroko cabinets housing everything needed to enjoy breakfast from the sill-counter table that runs the length of the panoramic view window.

Each suite is entered from its own south-facing seating area outside giving guests their own piece of the island both indoors and out.

Connemara Suite The Connemara Suite is 130sqm and includes a vast living area with stunning wraparound views of the island, Galway Bay and Connemara from a 15m long continuous window to the north and west. It is designed for optimum luxury for two guests.

The sleeping area is a separate bedroom with superking size iroko bed and an ensuite, granite tiled, Philippe Starck bathroom with a double wetroom featuring Swadling power showers.

The open plan living area has both a lounge and dining area. The lounge features a large L-couch around a wood burning stove and mini-library. The dining area features a custom iroko kitchen housing everything needed to enjoy the delivered breakfast from the oak dining table looking out over the panoramic view window.

The Connemara Suite is entered from its own expansive, south-facing seating area outside giving guests their own piece of the island both indoors and out.

All Suite Stays include: ← Collection on arrival to and departure from the island ← Orientation and fresh baking or apéritif on arrival ← Inis Meáin Breakfast Box* ← Inis Meáin HotPot Lunch* ← Inis Meáin Exploration Kit* ← Expansive island and sea views ← Minimum space of 50sqm ← Outside entrance door ← Private outside sitting area ← Inside sitting area ← Superking size oroko beds ← High thread count cotton sheets ← Down duvets ← Swadling power showers ← Philip Starck bathrooms ← Aveda toiletries Wireless broadband

Unique Inis Meáin Suite Stay Elements: ← The Inis Meáin Breakfast Box The Inis Meáin Breakfast Box is a daily delivered breakfast in a specially created oroko teak box. Each space is filled with a variety of good foods including freshly baked breads, our own boiled eggs, homemade muesli, fresh fruit, glenisk yoghurt, karmine fruit juice, cured meat and fish, soft cheese and a sweet element for elevenses. There is variation within most elements each day and the box is designed to give healthy breakfast options for every taste.Breakfast is delivered early to each suite hall, without disturbance, so that guests can enjoy breakfast in the privacy and comfort of their suite, at their own pace. ← The Inis Meáin HotPot Lunch The Inis Meáin HotPot Lunch consists of a substantial vegetable and pulse soup and freshly baked flatbread. The HotPot Lunch has a different soup each day and is delivered to the suite in specially sourced Thermos Rugged Food Flasks and an Altadena Works reinforced canvas and leather backpack.The HotPot Lunch is designed so that guests can get on with trekking to some of the furthermost extremities of the island and enjoy sustinence at some of the island’s most striking viewing points.

The Inis Meáin Exploration Kit The Inis Meáin Exploration Kit is the collection of tools we provide in each suite to help our guests best explore the island. These include island-customised Cube bicycles, Steiner binoculars, baited fishing rod, ash walking sticks, beach towels, maps, nature guides, and books of interest. By having the Exploration Kit tools readily available in each suite, it makes it easy for guests to get on with discovering our unique location.

Quotes

“Possibly the most loved up little hotel to open in the British Isles in a decade” The Sunday Times Travel Magazine

“Peace-seekers, nature lovers and each-other lovers will adore it here” Alastair Sawday’s Special Places to Stay

For further information contact: Marie-Thérèse de Blacam Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites Mobile: +353 86 3885576 E-mail: [email protected]

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← ISLAND

Inis Meain offers the best of Ireland in one easily explored island – unparalleled natural beauty, culture, and history in a living community.

As the least developed of the three Aran Islands, this landscape, culture, and history can be explored in peace and at the visitor’s own pace.

This combination of elemental beauty and personal space has long attracted independent thinkers and artists and has been the inspiration for many well-known works including JM Synge’s The Aran Islands and Martin McDonogh’s recent The Cripple of Inishmaan (an anglicisation of Inis Meáin).

Activities on the Island As the island is just 5km by 3km, it is easily explorable by foot and bicycle. It is a haven for outdoor types looking for a get away from it all experience in a unique landscape.

Hiking - There are stunning coastal hikes from two to eight hours in length which take in sea-cliffs, wave cut platforms, puffing holes, beaches and dunes. Enjoy your HotPot Lunch along the way in Synge’s Chair looking out over Galway Bay.

Cycling - Custom-sourced Cube bicycles are included and are a great way to explore the many internal roads which wind through tiny stone-walled fields.

Historical & Cultural Sights - Pre-christian stone forts, beehive huts, ancient burial grounds, Synge’s house, Harry Clarke Studio stained-glass windows, and many more.

Beaches & Fishing - There are lots of beaches from which to swim in the pure open Atlantic Ocean. Or if you prefer to catch something swimming, there is a baited fishing rod in each suite. Mackerel and pollock can be caught from the island pier.

Flora & Fauna - Inis Meáin is part of the world-reknowned Burren geological area. It has a Karst limestone landscape unique in Europe in which many rare birds and flowers can be found. Steiner binoculars are included in each suite to observe them in their wild habitats around the island.

Shopping - Inis Meáin Knitting Company, creators of luxury knitwear stocked in stores like Bergdorf Goodman in New York, have a factory store on the island. The store also presents beautiful photography exhibitions of island life.

Socialising - There is just one pub on the island, five minutes walk from the suites, so it’s easy to meet locals and get a feel for the island community. Cultural events like the annual Galway Hooker regatta and Currach Races bring a more lively atmosphere to the island at certain dates during the season.

Quotes

"The islands' extreme geographical location, barren and bleakly beautiful landscapes, and importance as timeless strongholds of Irish language and culture have given these modest specks of grey, bare, weather-beaten rock an enduring and otherworldly appeal." The Telegraph

"A contemporary restaurant the critics are raving about in one of the most uniquely beautiful spots in the world." Food & Wine Magazine

For further information contact: Marie-Thérèse de Blacam Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites Mobile: +353 86 3885576 E-mail: [email protected] PEOPLE

Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites was created by Marie-Thérèse and Ruairí de Blacam with the aim of enabling guests to best experience their unique island location.

Every detail is inspired by the island and the unique way of living that is necessary in such a remote location of natural beauty.

It is an intimately private retreat run personally by Ruairí and Marie-Thérèse and a small team. Both are widely travelled and have curated their best hotel experiences into their very original hospitality offering.

Ruairí de Blacam Ruairí is the cook in the restaurant, and as a native of Inis Meáin, is inspired by the purity of the ingredients and the food traditions of the island.

He spent 15 years working as a professional chef in Dublin, Italy, Germany and France before returning home to the island to open his own restaurant.

Ruairí was born before the island had electricity and experienced an Irish childhood that was more akin to that of the previous generation in the 1950s. It was a time when there was just one supply boat to the island each week - if the sailing wasn’t cancelled in rough weather.

Each house on the island had a cow, and milk was borrowed from the neighbour’s cow when your own cow was in calf. Pigs and chickens were also common, as was salting fish, and foraging, not for fashion sake but to ensure a continuous food supply.

He has a very grounded approach to food through which his philosophy of Elemental Eating has developed. Based on using the best available island ingredients and presenting them simply using just two elements in each dish to highlight their deliciousness.

Marie-Thérèse de Blacam Marie-Thérèse wears many caps for Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites including Host, Interior Designer and Marketeer.

She has a broad background in these areas, and an enduring interest in food and hospitality first piqued by a work placement in Ballymaloe Cookery School near to her family home in East Cork.

As host and sommelier in the restaurant, she regularly provides insights to guests curious about the idiosyncrasies of their unique location.

A keen baker, she has developed the many breads, cakes and biscuits enjoyed by guests during a stay, and together with Ruairí, tends to the animals and plants they have nurtured to provide ingredients for the restaurant and suites.

For further information contact: Marie-Thérèse de Blacam Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites Mobile: +353 86 3885576 E-mail: [email protected] ARCHITECTURE

Shane de Blacam of Dublin-based de Blacam & Meagher Architects sensitively designed the stone-clad building housing the restaurant and suites.

Conceived to blend in with the surrounding dry stone walls, the building is difficult to decipher from any distance. Long and low-lying, the stone-facing is relieved by a continuous window running the whole 75 meter length of the building, enabling guests to feel connected to the outdoors. The steel structure that was required for this length of window, provides a raw, elemental strength and aesthetic to the interiors. Combined with natural finishes in lime, wood, granite and wool, the interiors reflect the elemental nature outside.

Shane and his partner John Meagher have been referred to as the “Godfathers of Irish Architecture” in Architects of Today (Laurence King 2004), and a retrospective of their work was the feature of the Irish Pavillion at the 2010 Venice Biennale of Architecture.

Shane is also Ruairí’s uncle and was very familiar with the local terrain, having previously designed other buildings on the island. Other award-winning work from the firm include the Dining Hall and Atrium in Trinity College Dublin and the Digicel World Headquarters in Kingston, Jamaica.

Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites was nominated for the Best Commercial Building in Ireland at the Zurich LAMA Awards for Architecture in 2010, and was listed as one of the Top 10 Architectural Retreats globally in A Guide to Architectural Retreats (2010).

Quotes

“A Minor Architectural Masterpiece” The Sunday Times

“This “long, low-lying” glass and stone building is perfectly integrated into its stark, wild surroundings.” The Week Magazine (UK)

For further information contact: Marie-Thérèse de Blacam Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites Mobile: +353 86 3885576 E-mail: [email protected] II INTERIORS

Marie-Thérèse de Blacam is the main force behind the interiors of the suites and restaurant. The concept was to follow on from the overall architectural idea to bring the outside indoors, using natural materials of lime, wood, granite, felt and wool. The style is monastic simplicity, condusive to relaxation in comfort after a day spent exploring the island. The suites act as a calm canvas to compliment the stimulative nature of the island’s terrain.

Heavy oak doors reflect the potential power of the elements outside. Oroko teak windows provide simultaneously a grey sea-salt weathered exterior, and warm-toned frames for the panoramic views from the interior. All of the interior joinery, again in oroko teak, was designed by Marie-Thérèse, and made by Brendan Dunbar & Sons in Gorey, Co. Wexford and Inspired Designs in Galway.

All of the elements in the suites are sourced to be consistant with the clean, natural aesthetic. Sources include: Felt and heavy cotton couches from Muji and The Conran Store. Custom-designed wool rugs from Crucial Trading Bathroom Suites from Philip Starck for Duravit Swadling Powershowers Lighting from Cini & Nils Pottery from Stephen Pearce Soft furnishings from Inis Meáin Knitting Company Photography by Bill Doyle

Quotes

“The interiors mirror what's outside, with soft grey furnishings and large expanses of space in each of the suites designated for rumination and relaxation” The Guardian

“The rooms are simple and yet luxurious with a view that would take your breath away.” Galway Now Magazine

For further information contact: Marie-Thérèse de Blacam Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites Mobile: +353 86 3885576 E-mail: [email protected] ACTIVITIES

As the island is just 5km by 3km, it is easily explorable by foot and bicycle. It is a haven for outdoor types looking for a get away from it all experience in a unique landscape.

Cycling - Custom-sourced Cube bicycles are included and are a great way to explore the many internal roads which wind through tiny stone-walled fields.

Historical & Cultural Sights - Pre-christian stone forts, beehive huts, ancient burial grounds, Synge’s house, Harry Clarke Studio stained-glass windows, and many more.

For further information contact: Marie-Thérèse de Blacam Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites Mobile: +353 86 3885576 E-mail: [email protected]

SHOP

Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites now have an online store where the Baby Alpaca and Silk throws made especially for them on Inis Meáin can be purchased. Gift vouchers can also be purchased with immediate receipt to get you out of any sticky last minute present jams. Watch this space for further desirable lifestyle products from Inis Meáin for elemental living to come.

For further information contact: Marie-Thérèse de Blacam Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites Mobile: +353 86 3885576 E-mail: [email protected] PRESS QUOTES

“Ireland’s Ultimate Destination Restaurant” The Irish Times

"If any young restaurant couple in Europe deserve to flourish it is the de Blacams, deeply rooted on its very western extremity." The Financial Times

“A Minor Architectural Masterpiece” The Sunday Times

"A contemporary restaurant the critics are raving about in one of the most uniquely beautiful spots in the world." Food & Wine Magazine

“Possibly the most loved up little hotel to open in the British Isles in a decade” The Sunday Times Travel Magazine

“What is the best meal you ever had? A feast of fresh sea urchins at Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites in the Aran Islands.” Darina Allen, Ballymaloe Cookery School, Irish Independent

“The most exceptional memories, however, still resonate from an overnight stay on Inis Méain off the west coast of Ireland where Ruairi and Marie Thérèse de Blacam have opened a restaurant with five elegant bedrooms”… from” The Delectable Dozen – Best Restaurants of 2011” The Financial Times

“Peace-seekers, nature lovers and each-other lovers will adore it here” Alastair Sawday’s Special Places to Stay

“This “long, low-lying” glass and stone building is perfectly integrated into its stark, wild surroundings.” The Week Magazine (UK)

“The interiors mirror what's outside, with soft grey furnishings and large expanses of space in each of the suites designated for rumination and relaxation” The Guardian

“The rooms are simple and yet luxurious with a view that would take your breath away.” Galway Now Magazine

Overall Best Dining Experience in Ireland Award Irish Hospitality Awards 2013

Overall Best Boutique Hotel in Ireland Award Irish Hospitality Awards 2011

For further information contact: Marie-Thérèse de Blacam Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites Mobile: +353 86 3885576 E-mail: [email protected] PRESS RELEASES

DECEMBER 2013

CAPTURING THE ELEMENTAL BEAUTY OF INIS MEÁIN

To launch the 2014 season and a new website Ruairí and Marie-Thérèse de Blacam teamed up with IFTA award-winning director Ruán Magan, to create a visually striking representation of the elemental beauty of Inis Meáin.

A four minute short film emerged after four long and thrilling days of filming. Highlights include aerial footage of the unique island landscape from an Aer Arann charter, and an encounter with a large basking shark feeding just off the cliffs.

Design partners at Detail Design in Dublin added finishing touches, and accompanying music was created for the film by school-friend Dave Holden and the inimitable I Draw Slow, an internationally acclaimed Dublin-based bluegrass band.

Less promotional video, more creative endeavour, to inspire visitors both to the island and to Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites, the film captures the elemental nature of the island’s wild beauty.

The short film is featured on the homepage of an innovative and brand new website at www.inismeain.com. The website was developed by Marie-Thérèse with Brian Nolan and the team at Detail Design to create a contemporary online experience.

Features include striking photography, an Island Activity Map, Travel Toolkit, and Online Shop. It even has a live feed of the times of the tides in Inis Meáin each day so that visitors can imagine themselves on the island, watching the waves lap on the shore!

For further information contact: Marie-Thérèse de Blacam Inis Meáin Restaurant & Suites Mobile: +353 86 3885576 E-mail: [email protected]