Michael Quirke is one of the most delightful encounters to be had in Ireland. Once a butcher of meat, he is now a butcher of wood in the very same butcher shop premises in Sligo Town. Enter the shop and he is ready with a story of the gods, goddesses and mythic heroes said to once roam the local landscape. As they say, he has certainly got the gift of gab.

I visit Michael on every trip and it was during one of these visits that I asked why this area was so spiritually powerful. He whipped out a map and with his finger drew a triangle between Benbulben, Knocknarea, and a mountain to the south and east of Sligo Town. This, he informed me, is the mystical area known as the Hosting of the Sídhe, the most historic and dense population of faery folk and spirits from other realms, most especially the Tuatha Dé Danann, in all of Ireland.

Our Rosses Point B&B sits in the middle of this mystical triangle with spectacular views of both Knocknarea and Benbulben from the breakfast solarium. Sitting in the mystery. What a wonderful way to begin the day.