{"id":106500,"date":"2026-03-14T09:25:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T13:25:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/?page_id=106500"},"modified":"2026-03-17T16:42:41","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T20:42:41","slug":"ballynahinch-castle-hotel-essay-winner","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/ballynahinch-castle-hotel-essay-winner\/","title":{"rendered":"Ballynahinch Castle Hotel"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"row wpb_row row-fluid\"><div class=\"wpb_column columns medium-12 small-12\"><div class=\"vc_column-inner  \"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\"><aside class=\"gap cf\" style=\"height:20px;\"><\/aside><a class=\"image_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tablethotels.com\/\" target=\"\" title=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"161\" src=\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Tablet-logo.png\" class=\"thb_image  center  retina_size attachment-full\" alt=\"\" title=\"Tablet-logo\" \/><\/a><aside class=\"gap cf\" style=\"height:20px;\"><\/aside><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"row wpb_row row-fluid full-width-row\"><div class=\"wpb_column columns medium-12 small-12\"><div class=\"vc_column-inner  \"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"thb_image  center   \" src=\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ballynahinch-castle-1200x900.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" alt=\"ballynahinch-castle\" title=\"ballynahinch-castle\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><aside class=\"gap cf\" style=\"height:50px;\"><\/aside><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"row wpb_row row-fluid\"><div class=\"wpb_column columns medium-12 small-12\"><div class=\"vc_column-inner  \"><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\"><aside class=\"gap cf\" style=\"height:0px;\"><\/aside>\n\t<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<h3 style=\"text-align: left; font-family: Figtree, AvenirNext-Regular, HelveticaNeue-Light, Helvetica-Neue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 32px; line-height: 40px;\"><strong>The second runner-up in our hotel essay contest is a story about Ballynahinch Castle Hotel in Connemara, Ireland. It was written by Mikenzy Afdahl.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<aside class=\"gap cf\" style=\"height:50px;\"><\/aside>\n\t<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<p style=\"font-family: Figtree, AvenirNext-Regular, HelveticaNeue-Light, Helvetica-Neue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; line-height: 32px;\"><em>Featured hotel: <strong><a style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tablethotels.com\/en\/connemara-hotels\/ballynahinch-castle-hotel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ballynahinch Castle Hotel<\/a><\/strong><\/em><br \/>\n<em>Written by: Mikenzy Afdahl<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-family: Figtree, AvenirNext-Regular, HelveticaNeue-Light, Helvetica-Neue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; line-height: 32px;\"><strong><em><a style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/2026\/03\/write-away\/?noapp=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">See all the winning essays<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<aside class=\"gap cf\" style=\"height:50px;\"><\/aside>\n\t<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<p>Long before it was a hotel, the Ballynahinch Castle was a stronghold. Belonging to men who trusted stone and alliances more than sleep. A place where children learned early on that standing still was an invitation for trouble.<\/p>\n<p>It was built for watching. For surveying the water, the land, and anyone foolish enough to approach without permission.<\/p>\n<p>If a princess grew up here, she would have learned to run. And run fast.<\/p>\n<p>She would have memorized the corridors by torchlight, known which doors groaned and which stayed silent. She would have counted her steps between rooms and known how fast she could run from one side to the other. She would interrogate the walls. Demanding they tell her their secrets. They would not tell.<\/p>\n<p>Her family would have told her stories about Grace O\u2019Malley. The pirate queen.<\/p>\n<p>Grace had once lived here, too, they would say. Married into a powerful clan, then widowed by violence. She ruled ships, men, castles and refused to disappear quietly. She took what was hers and backed down from no one.<\/p>\n<p>If the girl listened closely, she might have believed Grace still walked the halls at night, checking locks, reminding the walls who belonged to whom.<\/p>\n<p>So when footsteps came, too many, too fast, the girl ran.<\/p>\n<p>She ran past thick walls built to withstand sieges, past windows cut narrow for archers, past rooms where war tactics were analyzed. She ran because this place had been designed for survival long before it was designed for comfort. She ran because castles don\u2019t last centuries by being soft.<\/p>\n<p>Years later, the girl would be gone. The threats would fade, and the castle would change hands. It would soften, slowly. Turning toward hospitality, toward warmth, toward guests who came not to conquer but to rest.<\/p>\n<p>But the Ballynahinch Castle would never forget what it was. Or what it was made for.<\/p>\n<p>Even now, if you walk its halls late enough, you might feel it. The way the building seems to watch back. The sense that something important once mattered here. And it mattered very much. That maybe, just maybe, the walls might tell you their secrets. <\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<aside class=\"gap cf\" style=\"height:70px;\"><\/aside>\n\t<div class=\"wpb_text_column wpb_content_element\" >\n\t\t<div class=\"wpb_wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<p style=\"font-family: Figtree, AvenirNext-Regular, HelveticaNeue-Light, Helvetica-Neue, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; line-height: 32px;\"><em>\u2014 <a style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tablethotels.com\/en\/about-tablet?noapp=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Learn more about Tablet Hotels<\/a>, the original boutique hotel curators and booking site.<br \/>\n\u2014 <a style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tablethotels.com\/?noapp=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Search our entire hotel selection<\/a>, featuring only the world&#8217;s most exciting hotels.<br \/>\n\u2014 <a style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/cb.tablethotels.com\/join\/magazine-signup?noapp=true\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Subscribe to our newsletter<\/a>, for bold opinions, big discounts, and unbelievable hotels.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<aside class=\"gap cf\" style=\"height:70px;\"><\/aside><div class=\"vc_separator wpb_content_element vc_separator_align_center vc_sep_width_100 vc_sep_pos_align_center vc_separator_no_text vc_sep_color_grey wpb_content_element  wpb_content_element\" ><span class=\"vc_sep_holder vc_sep_holder_l\"><span class=\"vc_sep_line\"><\/span><\/span><span class=\"vc_sep_holder vc_sep_holder_r\"><span class=\"vc_sep_line\"><\/span><\/span>\n<\/div><aside class=\"gap cf\" style=\"height:10px;\"><\/aside><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width_row=&#8221;true&#8221;][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;] The second runner-up in our hotel essay contest is a story about Ballynahinch Castle Hotel in Connemara, Ireland. It was written by Mikenzy Afdahl. [\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;] Featured hotel: Ballynahinch Castle Hotel Written by: Mikenzy Afdahl See all the winning essays [\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]Long before it was a hotel, the Ballynahinch Castle was a&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":106569,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-106500","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ballynahinch Castle Hotel \u2014 Tablet Hotels Essay Winner<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/ballynahinch-castle-hotel-essay-winner\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ballynahinch Castle Hotel \u2014 Tablet Hotels Essay Winner\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[vc_row][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row full_width_row=&#8221;true&#8221;][vc_column][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;] The second runner-up in our hotel essay contest is a story about Ballynahinch Castle Hotel in Connemara, Ireland. 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