Winter is definitely the connoisseur’s season of choice in Ireland. The colours of the hills are sensational, the skies glint in a shifting palette of smeary lights; the seas are boisterous and thrilling, the pubs cosy and firelit.

Wrap up warm and dry, and you’ll find Irish walks — and walkers — at their best. The golf courses are uncrowded. The city shops are going full blast. As for the pub music, you won’t have to use your elbows to get within earshot of the fiddler: in fact, you might even be invited to draw up alongside him and throw a bit of a song in the pot yourself.

Not so long ago, though, it was easier to catch a leprechaun than find a decent winter bolt hole here. Most of those that didn’t snap shut between October and April operated a sort of hibernatory half-life of pallid service and early dinnertimes. But things have changed to accommodate those discerning travellers who prefer Ireland out of the tourist season. Some of the smaller places can only put on meals for a large group of guests — generally six or more. This being Ireland, however, that sort of thing is usually negotiable over the phone.

Here are five specially selected winter hideaways, ranging from a private island estate to a family-run B&B. Each will give you a proper welcome and a cup of tea by the fire, a great dinner (or a recommendation of one close by) and an even better breakfast to set you up next morning.

More important than any of that, each of these places, in its very individual way, exemp-lifies that cardinal Irish virtue — hospitality warm enough to thaw even the coldest and hungriest traveller.

CASTLEMORRIS HOUSE
Tralee, Co Kerry

The drawing room — with its thick curtains, blazing turf-and-wood fire, and collection of musical instruments — is at the heart of Castlemorris House. Paddy or Mary Barry will chat to you while you demolish your teatime goodies (scones and other treats are made in Paddy’s family bakery in the town); they might even play and sing for you if cajoled.

It’s a friendly, relaxed regime in the four-storey Georgian house. Your wet walking clothes are hung over the range to dry; and the six big bedrooms have huge old wardrobes and chests of drawers, and very comfortable beds.

Around and about: Tralee lies among wild coasts at the head of the beautiful Dingle peninsula, a magical place to explore on narrow roads. The peninsula is looped by the Dingle Way, one of Ireland’s best waymarked paths. Tralee town itself is a good place to come back to after a blowy winter’s walk. Paddy Mac’s and Sean Og’s, on Bridge Street, offer traditional music sessions with your Guinness. Eat at David Norris’s classy restaurant (00 353-66 718 5654), on Ivy Terrace, or try The Cookery (66 712 8833), on Abbey Street — their seafood chowder’s a real winter warmer.

Hotel details: double rooms start at £55, B&B. Call 00 353 66 718 0060 or visit www.specialplacestostay.com.

Getting there: Ryanair (0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com) flies from Stansted to Kerry; from £46. Aer Arann (0800 587 2324, www.aerarann.ie) flies from Manchester to Kerry; from £56.

DOLPHIN BEACH HOUSE
Clifden, Co Galway

You can see dolphins playing in the water from your bedroom window at Dolphin Beach. So say Sinéad and Clodagh Foyle, the warm and welcoming young sisters who run this delightful small hotel in the extreme west of Ireland. Dolphin Beach is only 10 minutes out of Connemara’s “capital village”, Clifden, but it feels a world away, perched on a bank right above the shore, with a most spectacular view of sea, peninsulas and islands.

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