Ballymaloe - The History of a Place and its People (Hardcover) by Jane Hayter-Hames. Ballymaloe House in County Cork has become famous as a restaurant and hotel. It is a tranquil place now, but in the past it has known intense conflict. The area has a rich history; an early saint came here, the Elizabethan wars rage and merchant wealth spilled out from Cork harbour. Throughout, Ballymaloe has played a vital role. The house intrigues visitors who often ask when it was built and about the curious pictures inside it. Who livd at Ballymaloe and made it the house it is today? This book tells the story.
The name Ballymaloe congress up the best of modern Ireland, but the house itself is old and the settlement at Ballymaloe much older. The place has a rich and surprising history. Ballymaloe was owned for centuries by nearby Cloyne Cathedral. When the church lands were usurped by the powerful FitzGerald family, Ballymaloe was caught up in the wars and turbulence of the Tudor and Stuart centuries. Subsequently, prosperous merchants took on an enlarged Ballymaloe, but after a period of Georgian elegance it declined. When Ivan and Myrtle Allen bought the property in 1947 the house was fully restored, to become first a vibrant family home and then a restaurant which has set the standard for Irish cookery. From the earliest days to the present, this lovely old house has had a rich and varied history.