Restaurant Review - Lady Helen Room @ Mount Juliet
Wednesday 12 November 2025
With the inception of Michelin’s latest class of award last year – ‘Keys’ for hotels – now, every autumn, it won’t be just chefs on their knees praying they’ll be blessed with a star from the Oh Holy Rubber Tyre Man, we’ll also have suave top-notch hoteliers shaking in their boots as to whether it’ll take 1, 2 or 3 Michelin Keys to appease their wealthy owners. However, despite an initial 14 Irish awardees at the end of 2024 – all pretty obvious high-end hotels – there were some appalling omissions.
At the second ‘Key’ ceremony in Paris recently, 16 Irish hotels featured. Two retained their 3-Key status – Adare Manor and Ballyfin Demesne – while five received 2 Keys, including Ashford Castle, which was one of the aforementioned omitted. Cashel Palace, the Park Hotel Kenmare, Sheen Falls Lodge, and The Merrion in Dublin were the other 2-Key recipients.
lucindaosullivan.com
First Published In The Sunday Independent