Neven Maguire

2 months ago | farmersjournal.ie | Neven Maguire

When I think back on the COVID-19 pandemic, there aren’t many good things I could say. It brought misery and loss to so many families in Ireland and throughout the world. But it was during the lockdowns that I sat down and had a serious think about my priorities concerning work and family life. Up until then, we would open the restaurant on a Sunday to serve lunch and dinner. We would serve well over 100 guests each week. After the lockdowns, I changed that, and I have never regretted this decision.

Jan 21, 2025 | farmersjournal.ie | Neven Maguire

Over the years, whether filming television programmes or through my work with Simply Better, I have often had the pleasure of spending time on fishing boats. From Castletownbere to Donegal, I have watched fishermen work extremely hard and through all sorts of weather – just like our farmers do. For the restaurant, we get our fish from Killybegs, Co Donegal. Our guests are always interested to know how we source our ingredients, so we like to list our producers on the menu.

Jan 14, 2025 | farmersjournal.ie | Neven Maguire

Thankfully, this past week or so, we escaped the worst of the wintry weather experienced in other parts of the country, but as expected, we had a lot of cancellations because of it. Frost and snow, at this time of year, can really affect your business, but it is understandable. If the roads are bad, people need to be sensible, cautious and, above all, safe. We look forward to these guests coming back to us later on this year, so all is not lost.

Jan 8, 2025 | rte.ie | Neven Maguire

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Jan 6, 2025 | farmersjournal.ie | Neven Maguire

Well, all of us here at MacNean House have had a great Christmas break. We hope you all did, too. We are feeling refreshed and excited to be back open again, and look forward to welcoming our first guests of 2025. For the past few years, we have been closing the restaurant for a short time each January and the break is wonderful for our staff, but it also allows us to get a lot of planning done for the year ahead. Our gardener, Kevin Ashley, has been working with us for 15 years.