The O Rourke Family

St Brendas. One year

My name is Tom. I recently retired having worked in the hospitality sector all of my life. I live with my partner, Mary, who works in a busy local hair dressing salon. We met later in life and have been living together in the picturesque town of Birr for the past 15 years. Living in our large home, it is just the two of us, and Mary's youngest daughter, who is now settling into her career as a school teacher at a local school.Between us we now have 7 grown up children, and 11 grandchildren. We are friendly, kind, and laid-back people and love having people staying with us. There are many historical sites around the midlands, such as Birr Castle and Clonmacnoise. Birr is also perfect for exploring many scenic areas such as the Slieve Bloom mountains, as well as nature reserves like Lough Boora. Being located in the centre of Ireland, Birr is also perfect for day trips to cities on either coast of the country - both Galway in the west, and Dublin in the east are only about 1hr 30mins away.