Ballymaloe House

Our Story

Ballymaloe House

Myrtle and Ivan Allen bought Ballymaloe in 1948 from the Simpson family. The Simpsons were known in the area for their parties and Myrtle and Ivan had, in fact, met at Ballycotton Lifeboat fundraising dinner at Ballymaloe a few years previously. Ivan had wide farming interests, growing tomatoes and cucumbers in glasshouses and mushrooms in dark wooden sheds at nearby Kinoith as well as managing the orchards there. However, Ivan longed for a mixed farm and when Ballymaloe came up for sale he decided to buy it. Myrtle and Ivan spent the next sixteen years farming and bringing up their children. The farm was a success producing milk, butter, cream, eggs, home raised pork and veal as well as fruit and vegetables. Myrtle became highly knowledgeable about cooking their produce and began writing a cookery column in the Irish Farmers Journal. Myrtle opened a restaurant in their home, Ballymaloe House, in 1964. Advertising in a local newspaper an invitation to 'Dine in a Country House'. Utilising all the fresh seasonal produce her husband Ivan was producing. Her ethos was to serve the very best ingredients simply and it is an ethos that is still embraced here at Ballymaloe House. Myrtle went on to be awarded Ireland's first female chefs Michelin Star and earnt the restaurant the accolade as the Birth Place of Modern Irish Cuisine. The Allen families reputation for the very best Irish Hospitality and food spread internationally and the house continues to be owned by the Allen family, enjoying continued global recognition for incredible food and the warmest of Irish hospitality.