March/April 2021

PEOPLE
“RURAL IRELAND
IS PRETTY MUCH
ON ITS KNEES SO
THE BUSINESS
COMING
THROUGH
HAS REALLY
HELPED AND
CASTLETOWN
GEOGHEGAN
HAS MANAGED
TO KEEP
ITS VILLAGE
POST OFFICE
AND SHOP,
WHICH ARE
VITAL IN THIS
COMMUNITY.”
important to us but it isn’t something we brag
about.”
GLAMPING
In 2011, the family had to start making the land work
for them. “We got into trouble with the banks and
needed to bring in some money. Our first enterprise
was glamping. I was watching Country House Rescue
on Channel 4 and saw that despite them putting a
lot of time and effort into transforming the lovely
Georgian house into a B&B, everyone wanted to stay
in the geodome in the garden. Most of us get to stay
in nice houses from time to time but not something
quirky and outdoors.
“We put in planning and were fortunate enough to
not have one objection. There are three pubs in the
village and they all benefit from the people we bring
to the area. Rural Ireland is pretty much on its knees
so the business coming through has really helped
and Castletown Geoghegan has managed to keep
its village post office and shop, which are vital in this
community.”
Adrian researched domes but couldn’t find any
on the market at that time so turned his attention to
other structures. “I had stayed in a Mongolian yurt
when I was 19 and loved it so I ordered 10. It took us
a week to put the first one up – no one here could
read the instructions that were in Mandarin! The last
one we had up in a morning.”
Adrian started marketing stays in the yurts
through Facebook and then a one page website. “I
had put my mobile as the contact number and was
receiving calls at all hours. By the third weekend of
opening we were fully booked and it continued like
that.”
And then National Geographic got in touch…
“When the call came in I thought it was a mate
winding me up. I Googled the journalist who said
she wanted to include us in their Travel Insights.
She seemed legit and came to the site, asking me a
thousand questions.
“I could have started out with a grand marketing
strategy but everything came together organically
and we just flew.”
FESTIVAL THINKING
From the beginning Adrian says he had a ‘festival
head’ on. “I was thinking all the time about festivaltype
off-grid infrastructure, but this isn’t always
practical. For instance, we started off with eco,
composting loos but quickly tired of them. Luckily
for us we had the mains sewer going through the
land so we installed flushing toilets. We have kept
the festival vibe with festoon lighting, a converted
double decker bus and other quirky touches –
nothing run of the mill. We also have shepherd huts
and five small stone Irish cottages.”
In 2011, Adrian took his festival thinking to its
logical extreme and launched Green Village Fest to
help promote the glamping.
“We got 3,000 people but we were expecting
30,000! We learnt a hard lesson. We had too much
of everything and lost a fortune. There were some
excellent elements though, including a speakers’
tent and we got famous economist David M Williams
to talk. It was only three years after the big crash in
2008 so it took big balls to do what we did and I am
proud that we gave it a go. I would do it again, but
smaller.”
WEDDINGS
Mount Druid made the move to weddings in 2012.
“We looked at the price of hiring a marquee and
realised how cost prohibitive it can be for couples so
figured we should create a purpose built place.”
Mount Druid now boasts an unconsecrated
tin chapel that seats 190, a converted barn and a
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