An hour from Dublin, just outside the heritage town of Abbeyleix, chef Cúán Greene has opened Ómós, an intimate guesthouse and restaurant set within a restored Victorian property in Ireland’s lush Midlands.
The name itself sets the tone: Ómós is the Gaelic word for homage, duty, and respect. “This is a deeply personal project,” says Greene. “We hope to deliver a world-renowned restaurant and guesthouse experience in Ireland, while supporting the community and regenerating the land. We hope to create something lasting, with a strong sense of place, shaped by its surroundings and expressed through the art, design, and Irish craft integrated throughout.”
Guesthouse design
The project was led by Dublin-based Ryan W. Kennihan Architects in collaboration with Copenhagen’s Asca Studio and Relief Gallery.
The guesthouse offers 16 rooms total: 10 in the main house and six in the adjacent coach houses. Each room carries its own distinct character, with bespoke joinery and furnishings that incorporate traditional symbols drawn from vernacular Irish furniture, including diamond and quatrefoil motifs. Lounge spaces are designed for unhurried moments: tea and cakes from a trolley, books, cocktails, and conversation.
The culinary experience at Ómós
A dedicated pathway connects the main house to the restaurant, a modern structure where stone walls are lined with grasses and tall yew trees. The restaurant and bakery buildings take their architectural cues from the Irish farmstead, and the dining rooms carry an elegant, textural aesthetic grounded in a strong sense of place.
The restaurant seats 32, with a private dining room for 10. The kitchen’s energy is deliberately woven into the guest experience, where visitors are invited to walk the spaces, view the preservation rooms, and meet the chefs.
The expansive grounds
The property extends well beyond its walls. Ómós is surrounded by rolling farmland, lowland forestry, fruiting trees, wildflower fields, and a mill pond available for swimming. A Douglas Fir sauna, inspired by ancient Irish sweathouses (known in Irish as teach allais), overlooks the pond, with outdoor copper showers and open-water swimming available for cooling down.
Four acres of ornamental meadows and gardens, designed by landscape designers Edward and Arthur Shackleton, highlight native Irish plants and flowers. Nearly three miles of walking trails traverse the property, including one that follows a stream to a waterfall, one that winds through a field carpeted in bluebells each spring, and one that leads directly into the town of Abbeyleix.
