News
Fáilte Ireland awards Gala Dinner Venue funding to Killarney distillery to attract international Business Events
Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin TD and Fáilte Ireland have announced that Killarney Brewing & Distilling Visitors Experience is among the five venues awarded a total of €1 million through the Platforms for Growth Gala Dinner Venues Investment Scheme.
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The investment has been allocated to five projects to facilitate the development of gala dinner venues of scale in four of Ireland’s business events hubs - Dublin, Kerry, the Shannon Region and Galway.
This investment will go towards the development and enhancement of the venues, to enable them to compete to win international business events for Ireland. It is estimated that €67 million worth of incremental business events could be delivered for the country over a 5-year period on the back of this investment.
Nestled on the shores of The Lakes of Killarney and surrounded by the National Park, Killarney Brewing & Distilling Co. is located on the picturesque Ring of Kerry with captivating panoramic views of the MacGillycuddy’s Reeks. It offers a full suite of versatile event spaces including modern gala dining for up to 250.
Gala dinners are a key component of international conferences, incentive trips, and large corporate meetings and Ireland’s current gala dinner venue offering is not sufficient to deal with demand. The Gala Dinner Venues Investment Scheme was established to accommodate demand in the market, and to ensure the sustainable growth of business events revenue, which is central to Fáilte Ireland’s sustainable tourism agenda.
FIVE VENUES NATIONWIDE
The venues receiving capital investment funding from Fáilte Ireland under the Gala Dinner Venues Investment Scheme are:
Killarney Brewing & Distilling Visitors Experience Limited, Kerry
Saint Mary’s Cathedral, Limerick
Claregalway Castle, Galway
Custom House Quarter Ltd., Dublin
St Nicholas’ Collegiate Church, Galway
Today’s announcement is the culmination of a competitive application process which began in 2022. The projects receiving investment were strategically selected under strict eligibility criteria, including an ability to deliver not only on capacity (350 diners for Dublin venues and 250 diners for venues in regional Ireland) but also on accessibility, in terms of their proximity to one of Ireland’s business events hubs.
The venues were also required to deliver on the ‘wow’ factor, which means they had to offer an exceptional venue, in a spectacular location, which would instantly appeal to an international audience. The selected venues will be required to adhere to and promote sustainability best practice in the operation of the venue and should support the business events industry to deliver events complying with best practice environmental sustainability measures.
Minister Catherine Martin said: “The business events industry is a key component of Ireland’s tourism offering and driver of economic benefit for Ireland, with an estimated contribution of almost €800 million to our economy and supporting 20,000 jobs. Today’s investment announcement will ensure world-class venues are developed that will attract international business events to our key business events hubs. This is critical to strengthening Ireland’s reputation internationally as a leading business events destination and will have far reaching impact on Ireland’s tourism sector and the wider Irish economy.”
Paul Kelly, CEO of Fáilte Ireland added: “Business event delegates inject approximately three times more revenue into local economies than leisure travellers. Business events also benefit the wider tourism ecosystem by driving high-yield business often during mid-week and off-season periods, complementing leisure tourism patterns. The overall objective of this focused capital investment scheme is to facilitate the development of ‘wow’ gala dinner venues of scale in Ireland’s premier business events hubs. We were encouraged to see the calibre of applicants and we are pleased that the five awarded projects will add truly best-in-class venues to the Irish venue portfolio.”
Killarney Brewing & Distilling Co
Managing Director of Killarney Brewing & Distilling Co. Barry Spellman said: “We are delighted to receive this investment and vote of confidence from Fáilte Ireland. It will significantly enhance Killarney Brewing & Distilling's capacity to attract and host international business events. This development showcases our venue's unique 5-star 'wow' factor and Killarney’s breathtaking landscape. We thank Fáilte Ireland and Minister Catherine Martin for supporting our vision to deliver world-class gala dinner experiences."
The Gala Dinner Venues Investment Scheme is a part of Fáilte Ireland’s €150 million Platforms for Growth Programme, which falls under the Government's Project Ireland 2040 strategy. The Platforms for Growth Programme targets projects that have the greatest potential to grow tourism throughout the year.
Members of the extended O’Connor family, neighbours, and friends gathered at the ancestral homestead of Fr Sean O’Connor O.S.A. at Doonasleen, Knocknagree, to celebrate his 100th birthday. Fr Sean travelled from the Augustinian Community at Abbeyside, Dungarvan, County Waterford, where he currently lives, to mark the milestone at his childhood home.
Fr Sean was born on 9 June 1926 alongside his twin sister, Peg. He grew up on a farm with his parents and six siblings, all of whom are now deceased. He was baptised in Kiskeam but his family regularly travelled to Sunday Mass in Knocknagree.
He attended the old two-story school in Knocknagree, where he was taught by Miss Dennehy, an educator he later honoured in a poem titled “My first Teacher”. He recalls encountering the blind fiddler Tom Billy Murphy on his school journeys, which helped foster a lifelong love of music inherited from his mother, Maggie Jones, who played the concertina.
Known as Jackie during his youth, he took the name John O’Connor when he moved to New Ross for his secondary education with the Augustinian Order in 1939. He made his simple profession on 24 September 1946 and was ordained a priest in Rome on 13 July 1952.
Shortly after his ordination, Fr Sean’s health failed when he contracted tuberculosis. He spent two years at St Mary’s Hospital in Phoenix Park, Dublin, which included nine months of complete bed rest and two chest operations. The surgeries resulted in the loss of seven ribs and the permanent collapse of most of his right lung. Due to his health, his lifelong ambition to join the foreign missions could not be realised.
Following his recovery, Fr Sean served in various religious appointments across Ireland and England, including Callan, Fethard, Dungarvan, Carlisle, Drogheda, Galway, and Ballyhaunis, before returning to Abbeyside. At his 98th birthday celebration in 2024, it was noted that he was the oldest serving Roman Catholic priest in Ireland and the UK.
For his centenary celebration, Fr Sean wore his priestly vestments to celebrate Holy Mass at an altar prepared in the sitting room at Doonasleen. A framed apostolic blessing from Pope Leo XIV, a fellow Augustinian priest, was displayed on a nearby table.
Due to poor weather and the large crowd, the gathering moved to the new Knocknagree Community Centre for a reception. A special photograph was taken on the day featuring Fr Sean alongside his six surviving first cousins.
As a dedicated Gaelic football follower, Fr Sean was presented with a custom Knocknagree GAA jersey featuring the number 100. He later wore the jersey at the local football grounds for photographs, on a day when Knocknagree secured a league win against Kilnamartyra.
The day concluded with a visit from the Bishop of Kerry, Ray Browne, who travelled to the ancestral home to congratulate Fr Sean. Fr Sean noted that it was a historic occasion, marking the first time a bishop had ever visited the townlands of Doon or Tureen.
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