Melissa,

Hope all is going well with you and yours. Yes, Mary closed Bunratty Lodge earlier this year. I've seen her since and she is enjoying her retirement and able to do some traveling herself. Not being tied to the B&B means she can now attend family events and visit her family and friends when she wants. After close to 40 years in the biz I think she was a great ambassador for Ireland and Irish B&Bs.

Kathleen Browne has definitely taken up where Mary left off. (After all Mary showed her the ropes of running a B&B.) So Headley Court is the new generation in the B&B biz. Unfortunately not too many younger ones are carrying on the tradition. I can see a day when hotels abound and B&Bs become fewer and fewer.

Michele