Tributes paid to long-serving Scott’s Hotel manager Dan McCarthy

Tributes have been paid this week to Dan McCarthy, the long-standing General Manager of Scotts Hotel, who passed away unexpectedly but peacefully at his home on Sunday, February 22.

A proud Cork native originally from Turners Cross, Dan moved to Killarney over 30 years ago. During three decades at Scotts Hotel, he became a central figure in the local tourism industry and the wider Killarney community.
The O’Donoghue family and the team at Scott’s described him as the “foundation of the hotel,” noting his legendary wit, work ethic, and passion for people.
Dan was laid to rest following a Requiem Mass on Thursday, February 26, at Christ the King Church in Turners Cross, Cork, with burial afterward at St James’ Cemetery, Chetwynd.
His passing has been felt deeply by his colleagues in Killarney, who noted that while he remained a loyal ‘Rebel’, he had truly woven himself into the fabric of the Kingdom.
He is survived by his children, Shane and Grace, his mother Peg, his brothers Ger, Gene, Barry, Dave, and Paul, as well as his extended family, many friends, and longtime colleagues at Scott’s Hotel.

The centenary of the historic Arbutus Hotel took centre stage this week at the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) Annual Conference.

Held at the Gleneagle Arena, the gathering of over 300 hoteliers from across the country provided a platform to celebrate the 100-year legacy of the Buckley family and their landmark establishment.

The story of the Arbutus began with Tim Buckley, who spent 14 years in New York working as a night porter and hackney cab driver to save the funds needed to buy the property he had admired as a young man.

After returning from America, Tim and his wife Julia Daly purchased what was then Russell’s Hotel in 1925, officially renaming and launching it as the Arbutus Hotel in 1926.

Julia Daly played a significant role in the hotel’s early success, having attended the Ramsgrange Cookery School in Wexford to ensure the food and hospitality standards were world-class from the outset.

Today, the hotel remains under the care of the Buckley family, with three generations having steered it through a century of Killarney’s tourism history, passing from Tim to his son Pat in the 1960s, and now run by Tim’s grandson, Seán Buckley.

Garrett Power, Chairman of the Kerry IHF, presented a bouquet of flowers to Roisin Buckley, Seán’s daughter and first cousin of international star Jessie Buckley, to mark the occasion. The presentation honoured both the hotel’s centenary and the family’s wider contribution to the town.