087 270 9646 | info@thevillagebarn.ie
The story of The Village Barn began in the 19th century - or possibly even earlier - when the Ryan family opened a grocery, bakery, hardware and a pub on the site. Tom Ryan had a large family and ran a farm at the rear using the outbuildings for his animals and crops. These buildings now make up the Barn, Kitchen, Boudoir and Sanctuary. The Ryans ran all of these businesses in tandem until the early 1920s, when his youngest daughter, Biddy, took over. She sold the land to fund nice holidays and leased the businesses to Williams of Tullamore - a large commercial family business. John Claffey, the current owner's uncle, came to manage it for Williams and with the help of his father, purchased it in 1950. John successfully ran the business for many years before leasing it out to local man, Willie Gavigan, in 1983. When John passed away it was left in probate and his nephew Peter purchased it. In 2013, Peter began rebuilding and restoring the old buildings. In 2016, Peter leased them to David Smyth and The Village Barn was officially born. Since then, an extension has been added to the barn itself a fully equipped kitchen has been installed to cater for weddings, corporate events and family occasions.
2019 was a great year for us here at The Village Barn. Our second full year saw tremendous growth in weddings, parties and corporate events. Weddings began at Easter with the most magical weekend of sunshine and an equally magical couple and their two great sons. It continued a pace throughout the summer, in good weather and bad - but a drop of rain never dampened the spirits. Positive reviews poured in with garlic potatoes and homemade ice cream being firm favorites, and everyone mentioning our amazing crew - we couldn’t do it without them! Several nationalities and personalities passed through our doors, each of whom added their own personal twists to their big day. The year finished in style with a local couple and their fab daughter who enjoyed a Christmas wedding basked in bright winter sunshine.
While 2020 was set to be the busiest year yet for us, the Covid-19 hit us and all in the hospitality industry hard. With the vast amount of downtime, we had, we added a new porch and jazzed up the toilets in the barn and gave both the Sanctuary and the Orangery a facelift. We welcomed just 13 lovely couples and their guests through our doors to celebrate their special day and although the numbers were small, each wedding was thoroughly celebrated and enjoyed by all!
Similar to 2020, 2021 was also tainted by Covid-19 and its associated problems. While the beginning of the year We did however help make it a memorable year for some, celebrating and hosting magical days for lots of fabulous couples. A particular highlight for us was the opportunity to host A Hero’s Wedding Dream competition winners Ben and Kirsty who celebrated their nuptials in October. This competition was created by Aoife O’Sullivan and Tina McGrath who collectively gathered a group of suppliers to give away a free wedding to a frontline worker and their partner. Each and every supplier gave of their time and services to ensure these front line workers had the perfect wedding day they deserved.
01.01.2022 – The next Chapter begins, let's hope there’s more to write!
