Connect with us

News

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

Published

on

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.

Advertisement

News

Regatta Queen crowned at annual dance

Published

on

By

The annual Killarney Regatta Dance took place on September 25 as rowers, families and supporters came together to celebrate their successful year.

The racing was cancelled in September due to bad weather.

The Killarney Regatta is one of Ireland’s oldest rowing events, having first begun in 1788.

The dance took place at the Killarney Oaks Hotel where there was a lot of excitement and fun. Six rowing clubs, Fossa, Workman’s, St Brendan’s, Commercials, Flesk Valley, and Muckross, came together to celebrate the community and its shared history.

Amelia Counihan was crowned as the Regatta Queen.

The Queen represents the spirit pride and grace of the rowing community and has been a tradition in the club for generations.

Workman’s Rowing Club congratulated Amelia and described her as a woman who embodies everything that their tradition stands for.

The club said: “Queen is more than a title — it is a celebration of history, community, and the spirit of Killarney rowing.”

Attachments

Continue Reading

News

Killarney Looking Good competition celebrates community pride

Published

on

By

The annual Killarney Looking Good competition took place at the Great Southern Hotel on Wednesday night where Kerry GAA captain Gavin White presented the awards to the deserving recipients.

Killarney Park Hotel came out on top with the overall prize being awarded to the newly refurbished five-star hotel.

The judges were impressed by the stylish new entrance and driveway and their spectacular display of flowers and window boxes. Killarney Park won the same award back in 1992.

The best large commercial premises award went to Killarney Racecourse, and the best small commercial premises was awarded to Sheahan’s Pharmacy.

Charlie Foley’s won the best public house; best restaurant was 40 Main and Walsh Bros Shoes was named best retail.

In the residential categories, the best private residence was Tomies View, Ross Road, best large estate went to Countess Grove, and best small estate was won by Coolgreane Park.

The winner of the 2025 Fr Michael Murphy Memorial Pride of Place Award was presented to the Killarney Asylum Seekers Initiative while the Yvonne Quill Memorial Volunteer of the Year Award winner went to Margaret Curtin.

The Killarney Looking Good competition is organised by Killarney Municipal District Council and Killarney Chamber of Tourism and Commerce and sponsored by MD O’Shea’s & Sons and O’Mahony Media.

The competition aims to encourage residents and business owners to keep the town looking well through the use of flowers, hanging baskets, colour schemes.

Attachments

Continue Reading

Last News

Sport