Our home is in a beautiful part of the country side, which is rural and peaceful. Our home is quite secluded but within easy reach of the local village, towns, Cork city and is a good base for travel to North Cork and Kerry. Blarney and its beautiful castle is a 12-minute drive. There are some great walks and rune in the area and watching the local GAA games is always an attraction. We are 40 mins from the national mountain bike centre (Ballyhoura) and 30 mins from a water amenity / axe throwing / etc. While the lifestyle is relaxed, you can make it as quiet or busy as you want by staying put, using it as a convenient base to explore or to take in the bustling city. We get beautiful sunsets most of the year around. Read below what families have said about swapping with us!

In 2016, we swapped with a family from Paris, France.
Hello, we are a french family (5), and we spent 3 weeks at Kenneth and Denise's house in July  2016. The house is spacious, clean and bright. We really enjoyed the big kitchen. There is a nice view over the hills. We had some good times playing football and hurling with the neighbors in the big garden. We moved a lot in the area, especially on the south west coast, nice villages and nice beaches. We loved Blarney castle, went to pubs and we tried as much as possible to have local activities and meet Irish people. Kenneth gave us many information and good advices. We had a really good time in Grenagh and recommend exchange with the Burns family! Gaetan

We did not do an exchange in 2015.

In 2014, we swapped with a family from Damius, Gandia, Spain. ES656152
We have spent the first half of August in Grenagh at the home of the Burns-Twohig family. The house is great, very clean and very comfortable. It also has a large landscaped garden with beautiful forest views. It is very close to the city of Cork and Blarney Castle. The family was always mindful of our needs and they also advised us about restaurants and typical places to visit. If it had not been this way we ever would have found those places! Cork city and its surroundings are really interesting, so we recommend sharing home with this family.

In 2011 we swapped with a family from Guda, Netherlands (NL0378). Our Dutch visitors had the following to say about their swap with us:
Last week we returned from Ireland where we had a great holiday for nearly 3 weeks. We swapped houses and cars with family Burns from Grenagh, 17 km above Cork. All the contacts with Kenneth and Denise were very pleasant; they were very informative and correct and took great care for our house. Their house is spacious, comfortable and clean. They live in a quiet place and we enjoyed their enormous garden with splendid views. We are interested in nature, history and gardening and Ireland suited us very well. Our first week we made smaller trips in the region around Cork and got used to driving in an Irish car at the left side of the road. We visited Blarney Castle and gardens, Mallow and the Blackwater River, Kinsale, Cobh, Lakemount Garden at Glanmire and Cork. During the second week we made a 5 day’s trip to Beara, Kerry, Dingle and the Killarney region. We visited Bantry House and gardens, Garnish Island, loved Healey Pass, drove the ring of Kerry, spent an afternoon at a lovely sheltered sunny beach and saw many historical sites. Some miles north of Killarney we went with jaunting car to the cap of Dunloe. All the B&B places, for which we had made reservations beforehand, were absolutely perfect. They all served a delicious Irish breakfast.

We had dinner at good pubs with, later in the evenings, live music. The quiet Irish music, the good reasonable priced food and the social contacts were unique…don’t miss it! After a relaxed weekend at Grenagh we made, during the third week, a 3 day’s trip to the Burren and the Aran Islands. On our way to the Burren we visited Adare and Bunratty House.

The weather was remarkable good for Ireland, even better than on most parts of the Continent. It was mainly partly clouded with regularly sunshine and occasionally a short shower. The temperature was between 16 and 20 degrees and was ideal for an active holiday. We can strongly recommend a visit to Ireland and Grenagh is very centrally situated to visit many of the nicest places. Kees and Joke Kraal (NL0378)
 
In 2010 we swaped with a family in Santpedor, Catalonia (ES559). Our Catalan visitors had the following to say about their swap with us:

"We have swapped house 8 times and have had very different experiences, but we consider this family and this swap an excellent one. We would agree with the previous comments here on the web and would like to add that both the family and the neighbours have always made sure our stay was comfortable and sorted out our doubts straightaway. The guide to the house was very detailed and helped us greatly. Just to mention they have been very well organised from the very beginning and provided everything ahead of time".
 
In the summer of 2009 we swapped with a family from Paris (FR090156). They had the following to say about their stay with us:
"We are a French family of five and we stayed in Kenneth and Denise's house in June 2009. It was the begining of a 6 weeks trip in Ireland with our children. We travelled with three children, one of them 3 months old, and Kenneth and Denise's house was very practical and comfortable for all members of our family as they had cots, plentiful toys, a huge garden, lots of  bikes, DVDs and so on. They have a big sense of hospitality, and all was prepared for us to have a good stay in their house, which was very clean and comfortable. Their neighbours are very nice and gave us a lot of advice and we enjoyed the very quiet area. We also visited the ring of Kerry for 3 days spending nights in a hotel. It was a very great experience and we would recommend this family for an exchange!"

We visited the famous Ballymaloe House (1 hr. drive) for cooking lectures and excellent meals! We used Cork as a base for traveling to the Beara Peninsula. We also flew from Cork to Donegal/N. Ireland and visited places of interest. Flights from Cork to Belfast were very reasonably priced.Our hosts provided us with books/videos etc, our stay was very enjoyable and we had a great time!".



In summer 2008 we swapped with a family in the North East of Spain for 3 weeks (Catalonia – ES557). Our Catalan visitors had the following to say about their stay with us:
"Our stay at the Burns’s home has been a fantastic experience. They have a very beautiful bungalow with a very big garden where children can play all sorts of games. The house is very comfortable, once you get to it you feel like at home. The Burns’s family made our life very easy providing all sorts of things to make our stay very pleasant. I just want to mention a few of them, they let us use their iMac which is a fantastic computer, we could also use their video and CD players with lots of films for both the kids and the parents. They also prepared lots of leaflets and guides of things to do in the area and in cork. Their house is only 20 minutes away from Cork city centre which is very convenient for shopping, entertainment, visiting and so on.
Cork is a big city but I would say that you do not get the feeling of being in a very big city as you can walk everywhere. We have two kids and they had a great time visiting the area around cork and cork city. We visited the City gaol and Shandon bells in cork city which are two very interesting visits for the kids. We also went shopping nearly everyday to the Cork Market in the city centre. On day we spent the day in Fota Island where you can visit wild animals, it was a very nice outing!!! We also made friends with some neighbours who were very friendly and helpful whenever we needed them. On the whole, I must say that we had a fantastic holiday and I would recommend anyone to make a swap with Denise, Kenneth and Ella." 
 
In 2006 we swaped with a couple in Toronto, Canada. Our Canadian visitors had the following to say about their swap with us:
"We live in Toronto, Canada and we very much enjoyed our stay in Cork/ Grenagh. The house is comfortable and well appointed and the neighbours are very friendly. It takes only 15 min. to drive into Cork. The Blarney Woolen Mill in Blarney has excellent range of knitwear and some great bargains! The English Market in Cork was great for buying local produce and for having lunch upstairs. It was easy to find one's way in the city and we found The Vegetarian Restaurant to be excellent-visited it 2x (Cafe Paradiso whose owner won the world vegetarian cook book award a couple of years ago). We enjoyed visiting the art gallery at University College Cork. There is a good movie house in Cork for "art films".