This island estate offers a retreat from the busyness of daily life, where candlelit meals bring people together, and the old and new are blended beautifully.
There is a unique magic that unfolds around a long table, which is far more than something to simply eat from. It is a place to gather and be nourished by conversation and food. It invites laughter and shared experiences. It is a testament to the art of hospitality, a gesture that transcends cultures and time, rooted in the inherent human desire for connection.
A great host is a curator of these experiences. They possess an innate ability to create an environment where everyone feels seen and cherished. They exude sincere warmth, generosity of spirit and a desire to share something special with others.
Ophelia Keane is just that sort of host. Her nature is warm and curious and enthusiastic. She possesses a fervour with which she grows and gathers food, writes a menu, sets a table, and brings people together to share with them the food that makes a place. This place, her sanctuary, is Carpa dining, at her family home on Inish Beg estate near Baltimore in deep west Cork.
I know this, because one damp and drizzly evening, without knowing me, she rescued me from an explosion close to the cottage where I was staying. The bomb disposal unit was detonating a 1920s arms cache and had shut down the area. She insisted on bundling me up and bringing me to her home.
As dusk fell, I crossed the small bridge on the tidal estuary of the Ilen River, to the island, through the pillared gates and up a short avenue. In the fading light, I arrived at a large house painted deep peach, windows glowing with warm light. On entering, I was handed a glass of wine and introduced to Ophelia’s friends, who were having a pre-wedding dinner.
Feeling a short-lived embarrassment at crashing the party, I joined the long table in a new space just off the kitchen, candlelight flickering and reflecting all over the glass-filled dining room. We ate from the garden and the fields of Inish Beg estate; crudités, lamb chops, huge bowls of freshly picked salad and smashed roasted potatoes prepared by one of her guests.
Previous owners, the MacCarthy-Morrough family, were butter merchants who bought the island in 1830. Initially used as a sporting estate, the main house was finally finished in 1899. Ophelia’s parents, Paul and Georgina Keane, bought the then dilapidated house and estate in 1997.
“It was in such poor shape, it simplified things,” Georgina says. “We had a blank canvas. A new roof had to go on, new plumbing and electrics, tumbling walls were all that remained of the garden, absolutely everything had to be redone.” A family of tree lovers, Ophelia explains that their favourite tree – macrocarpa – a lemon-scented cypress, grows on the estate and is where Carpa derives its name.
Ophelia’s father Paul was initially an investment banker, although he admits having longed to become an actor. He then became a professional hot air balloonist for a time before buying a bookshop in Camberwell Grove in London. As time moved on, Georgina ran the bookshop and Paul started, what proved to be, a very successful publishing house specialising in medical journals. Since retiring, he is still an avid collector of books – they line the walls of entire rooms and spill down corridors of the house.
The place possessed a serenity, and it was very important to us that we retained that feeling on the island – it’s sort of half kept, half wild.
“We were desperate to find a home in Ireland. Paul is from Galway and wanted to move home. We spent three years looking for a house before Inish Beg came on the market,” Georgina explains. “The place possessed a serenity, and we immediately knew we wanted to live here. It was very important to us that we retained that feeling on the island and we want our guests to experience that too. It’s sort of half kept, half wild.” As well as rebuilding the house, gardens and estate, Paul and Georgina converted outhouses and an old boathouse into self-catering properties, ten in total, plus a lakeside wedding venue.
Like her father, Ophelia is a bit of a polymath; She studied history, then completed a master’s in gastronomy and sustainability at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Bra, Italy, with a thesis on urban farming in New York. She then spent time with restaurateur-activist Kamal Mouzawak in Beirut. This was followed by lots of jobs in the London food scene, including being the first employee at Kerb street food company and working at Pip & Nut, the nut butter brand.
Her curiosity is endless – when the pandemic hit, she undertook a postgraduate course in creative writing at Trinity while living at Inish Beg where she was locked down alone, her parents stuck in South Africa. Whilst there, looking after the estate, she realised that this was where she wanted to be for the foreseeable future. She bought a bulldog named Florence in Baltimore and settled into rural life.
“Guests at Inish Beg often don’t want to leave the island during their stay,” says Ophelia, “so I thought about setting up some kind of culinary experience.” She signed up for a course at Ballymaloe Cookery School. “Because of the restrictions, there were only a handful of us on the course. We couldn’t socialise together, so it was very strange, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.”
With her instinct for hospitality, Ophelia wanted to create a space for dinner parties and wine tastings and so designed and built a room on the south side of the house overlooking the lawn and magnificent trees. The result is a light-filled, contemporary space with cork panelled walls, furnished simply but impeccably. The walls are adorned with illustrations by her cousin, the forager and artist Samuel Arnold Keane, illuminated by wall lights she designed and made herself. The bar unit was made by Ahmad Fakhry of AB Projects, who also made the chairs from timber native to the estate, and hanging lights made from the macrocarpa tree.
As of May this year, Carpa is up and running. Ophelia cooks on a large Aga in the roomy family kitchen with the help of Simon Desmond, nephew of John Desmond from Heir Island’s Island Cottage restaurant.
Between the two, they work in harmony in the kitchen, but Simon can take the reins while Ophelia hosts and looks after guests. She creates events such as “Touching the Landscape”, a multi-sensory evening beginning with a foraging walk led by her cousin Sam along the island trails and through the garden, gathering for the evening’s dinner.
The salt-kissed seashore flavours mix with Inish Beg organic lamb or pork and local fish. Vivid mouthfuls from the garden of herbs and salads and vibrant vegetables together with foraged wild mushrooms combine to tell the story of this unique place.
Recent collaborations with Dublin’s bar-bistro Note and tastings with Les Bories Jefferies wine maker, introduced to her by Brian’s Wines, illustrate Ophelia’s ethos of bringing people together with a shared appreciation of the island’s offering. Private dinners and celebrations for up to 30 people can also be hosted in the Carpa dining space.
Ophelia Keane is the archetype of a great host, extending such warmth and welcome, transforming a room full of strangers into a room full of friends. And that is where her magic lies, fostering a sense of fun, friendship and community over a table of interesting conversation and very good food.
This feature originally appeared in the autumn/winter 2024 issue of IMAGE Interiors. Have you thought about becoming a subscriber? Find out more, and sign up here.
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