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Ballygarry first hotel to be accredited with COVID-19 Safety Charter for Hospitality

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ACCREDITATION: Staff at Ballygarry House, the first hotel to be accredited with COVID-19 Safety Charter for Hospitality, pictured as they returned to work last week.

 

After a 15-week rest, Ballygarry House returns to a new dawn after becoming the first hotel in Ireland to be accredited with the Fáilte Ireland COVID-19 Safety Charter for Hospitality.

 

The COVID-19 Safety Charter is a Government-endorsed initiative that ensures tourism and hospitality businesses are well-able to adhere to the specific guidelines outlined for reopening.

Bringing 135 staff back to work, Padraig McGillicuddy, Hotel Proprietor, is delighted to reopen Ballygarry House’s doors to guests and welcome them to the establishment that has been 62 years in the McGillicuddy family.

“This year is the year of the Irish, all business will be home grown and it’s going to be largely based on a quality product with value for money,” Padraig said.

“We got plenty of work done on creating a message to satisfy consumer confidence through social media videos. We launched a fun reopening video and we have had over 100,000 views which is a remarkable result. We also launched a video endorsing the measures we are taking to reassure the guests and instil consumer confidence in our COVID practices. Simple things like replacing the traditional Irish handshake with our ‘hand on our heart’ gesture, a symbol of our love of all things hospitality.”

He explained that this will be an exceptional year where the business will do well to breakeven, but the priority has been to keep their team together, trade out of it and look forward to a really prosperous year in 2021.
“The cost of the pandemic in lost revenue to the hotel is €4,000,000 some of which can be recovered but it will be a challenge. Thankfully we entered this shutdown in a very strong position so we’ll rise stronger than ever from it.”

With Kerry Tourism generating over €420 million for Kerry which is the main form of employment in the county, Padraig is keen to get Ballygarry back to previous trading levels. However, he stressed the necessity and importance of the lockdown and how it helped slow down the speed of the virus in and around Kerry and Ireland. Ballygarry itself has retrained all staff, re-written its hotel policies and standard operating procedures in line with and beyond Government guidelines so they can assure their guests and staff that safety is the number one priority.

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Winner claims €1m Lotto win after ticket sat in glovebox

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Winner claims €1m Lotto win after ticket sat in glovebox


A Killarney lottery player has officially claimed a life-changing €1,005,000 EuroMillions prize after discovering the winning ticket had been sitting forgotten in a car glovebox for over a week.


The lucky ticket was purchased at John Bowler’s Centra store at The Reeks Gateway on Tralee Road for the special Ireland Only Raffle draw on Friday, August 21.
While the winner’s identity remains anonymous, the individual strongly hinted at being a local resident after admitting to discussing the local mystery win with townspeople while unaware the winning paper was parked in their own driveway.
“I left the ticket in the car glovebox, it must’ve been sitting there for over a week,” the winner revealed. “I had no idea the ticket was even there, and less so it was a ticket worth €1 million.”
“I heard there had been a win in the town, and I had even been chatting to people about the win and what you would do if you ever won a prize like that. Little did I know a €1 million ticket was in my driveway.”
The Killarney player won the top prize in the National Lottery’s special event, which guarantees one player an extra €1,000,000 on top of the standard €5,000 raffle payout.
The newly minted millionaire has already begun planning how to enjoy the windfall, with a Mediterranean cruise sitting high on the priority list.

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Marathon run to honour memory of beloved teacher Sarah


A local man is taking on the Dublin City Marathon to raise funds for cancer research in memory of his sister-in-law, who passed away earlier this year.


David ‘Daithí’ Casey will run the 26.2-mile course in honour of Sarah Egan, a popular local teacher who lost her battle with Ewing Sarcoma in May.
Known affectionately to her family and friends as Suzie, Sarah was a cherished daughter, sister, aunt, godmother, and friend.
Paying tribute to her memory, David remembered Sarah as a exceptionally kind and brave person who faced her illness with immense strength.
“Suzie was a kind, caring, shy, and beautiful person,” David said. “When she got sick, she showed amazing inner strength and was a brave fighter, especially in how she handled her illness in front of her family and her nieces and nephews.”
All funds raised from the run will go directly to Sarcoma Cancer Ireland to support ongoing research and treatment developments for Ewing Sarcoma, as well as providing assistance to affected families.
“Every mile I run is a reminder of why I’m doing this — to make a real difference for those who need it most,” David added. “It’s not just about crossing a finish line; it’s about turning effort into impact.”
The Egan and Casey families extended their sincere thanks to the local community for their support and kindness over the past three months.
Donations can be made online via eventmaster.ie/fundraising/pages/DC69465374.

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