Top marks go to the north-east

There’s a special place in my heart for family-owned businesses. It may be a bit of a cliché that they are the lifeblood of many communities, but it’s also undoubtedly true.

One such business is Scholar’s, a small hotel in Drogheda in Co Louth. The handsome redbrick building was designed by Pugin & Ashlin in 1867, and was first used as a monastery before being turned ...