A tribute to a remarkable Kerry businesswoman, who was one of the inspirational personalities in the Kerry and Irish hotel industry, has been unveiled by Taoiseach Micheál Martin.

He marked the 60th anniversary of the busy Dromhall Hotel in Killarney by unveiling a framed portrait of the late Kay Randles who, with her late husband Neil, founded the business on Muckross Road in 1965.

The hotel is now run by the second generation of the Randles family and proprietor, Bernadette Randles, described it as a very proud day for everybody associated with the company over the past six decades.

Close on 150 guests, including some of the hotel’s first employees, attended the landmark celebration on Monday and the Taoiseach was joined by Ministers Norma Foley and Michael Healy-Rae, Deputy Michael Cahill, Mayor of Killarney Cllr Martin Grady and the Deputy Mayor of Kerry Cllr Marie Moloney.

“This is a very special day for us – a day to celebrate 60 years in business, a milestone that began as nothing more than a dream in the mind and heart of our mother, Kay Randles, back in 1965,” Bernadette said.

“Today is about that dream – her dream – and about the remarkable woman who turned it into a legacy.

“We are deeply grateful that the Taoiseach will honour our mother’s impact, not just on our family, but on the town of Killarney and the wider world of tourism,” she added.

Bernadette described her mother as a woman ahead of her time.

“For sixty years she poured her life, her energy and her love into building these hotels and businesses, all while raising six children.

“She and my father, Neil, were married just 26 years when he passed away, suddenly, at the age of 50. And yet, for the next 38 years, without her best friend by her side, she led, she built, she worked, she raised us – and she never stopped,” she said.

The hotelier added that for a town of its size, it is some achievement for Killarney to have 37 family-run hotels and she noted that many local businesses are now in the third and fourth generation of family ownership.

“It is such a fantastic thing to see so many family businesses thriving in our small town.
“We may compete with one another but we also support each other through advice, friendship and a genuine wish to see each other do well,” she said.

The Taoiseach said the story of the Randles family is very much the story of Killarney and it was an example of extraordinary entrepreneurial endeavour.

“Killarney has a very unique sense of getting things done and it is the one location that knows how to do tourism. It’s in your DNA,” he said.

“There’s something about the mindset of the community and the people of Killarney, like the Randles family, are just extraordinary”

Mr Martin said Kay Randles had demonstrated remarkable vision and determination throughout her life and she was like a spark that could never be dimmed.

The Taoiseach said he has had a love affair with Killarney since childhood when his father brought him to Munster finals and while they couldn’t afford to stay in a hotel owned by the Randles family back then, he still remembers the sandwiches and the welcome.

“It’s all down to the customer experience. You can have all the bricks and mortar you like but it’s about how you feel in a place that makes it special. We all learn from Killarney in that regard,” Mr Martin said.