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The Fermoy Collection #&* The Showgrounds, Fermoy, Co. Cork, Ireland Tel: 353-25-32461 Fax: 353-25-32407 Quills Woollen Market Killarney Kenmare Sneem (064) 32277 (064) 41078 (064) 45277 Irelands Best Sweater Shop Open 7Days 9am to 10pm CONTENTS W E HISTORY IN THE MAKING. I V E HughOramtracesthehistoryof R GN theGreatSouthernHotelGroup I RE —theoldesthotelgroupin T AC Ireland—fromitsinceptionin D N 1845 tothepresentday a A L E T O GALWAY: A STATE OF MIND. H :H Michael D. Higgins, poetand P A mayorofGalwayreflectsonCo. R G O Galway, oneofthemostbeautiful T O H countiesinIrelandwhichhasseen P manychangesovertheyears, but A DOUBLE WELCOME whichhasretaineditscharacter intact. 6 In GreatSouthern Hotels wepride ourselves on the warmth ofthe welcome wegive to ourguests. Now GREAT SOUTHERN NEws — CoverphotographbyBillDoyle . we have a newtoken ofthat welcome, this magazine, What’shappeningintheGreat SouthernHotels 10 FLOWERS FOR ALL SEASONS. produced exclusivelyforyourenjoymentas a valued Galway:AStateofMind VerneyNaylor,whohasa guest ofGreatSouthern Hotels. wonderfulgardenathome, takesa In thesepagesyoulfindplenty ofinterestabout triparoundthebeautifuland interestinggardensopentothe Ireland, and inparticularabout the regions where publicneartheGreatSouthern ourseven hotels are located. We've also taken the Hotels 16 opportunity to introduceyou to some ofthepeople in the hotels who make our Company the unique entity FISHING IN DEEP WATERS. Celebratedphotographerand that it is— thepeople who are here to serveyou, and authorMikeBunnextollsthe to make every aspect ofyourstaypleasantand virtuesofthefishinginlakesand enjoyable. seasaroundIreland. 18 Irelandis ofcoursefull ofhistory— so we've not ON THE HERITAGE TRAIL. The been shy about including something about ourown g South EastofIrelandplayshost to story. GreatSouthern is the longest establishedhotel | manytokensofIreland’s ancient | heritage. NickyFurlonglooksat group in Ireland, with a tradition ofinnkeeping that thehistoryoftheregionandvisits goes backfor nearly a century anda half. Forall theNationalHeritageParkat that time, weve been dedicated toproviding our Ferrycarrig. 22 guests with the highest quality— and that remains JOSEPHINE MAKES HER Fishingin DeepWaters MARK!Ireland’sonlyladychefto ouraim as we approdch the 21st century. headthekitchenbrigadeina For us, history is a living thing— we areproud of GradeA* hotel,JosephineLean, ourtradition, butequallyproud that every day we hasbeeninstrumentalin maintainingParknasilla’s have the opportunity to add to that tradition and to reputationforculinaryexcellence bring itforward byservingyou better. Enjoyyour 12 stay with us! We lookforward to seeingyou back DOING THE BUSINESS. The again. GreatSouthernHotelin Killarney ae hasbecomethepre-eminent conferencecentreinthecountry. JimNolan, Director, I.A.P.I. talks abouttheirsuccessfulannual EAMONN MCKEON conference recentlyheldin CHIEF EXECUTIVE Killarney. 14 GREAT SOUTHERN HOTELS GreatWelcomesispublishedforGreatSouthernHotelsbyIrish TatlerPublicactionsLtd., 46LowerLeesonStreet, Dublin2.Telephone 611811, Fax612830. Irish TatlerPublicationsLtd. isa memberoftheMaxwellConsumerPublishingandCommunicationsGroup.Great Welcomes doesnotacceptunsolicitedmanuscripts. Therefore, wewillnotberesponsibleforthem, norwilltheybeacknowledgedor returnedtosender. Wereservetherighttorefuseadvertisementswhen wecannotfullyrecommendtheproductorservicepublishedtherein. Opinions andarticlesfeaturesin thismagazinearetheauthors’ownandnotnecessarilytheopinionofGreatSouthernHotels. Publisher:NoelleCampbell-SharpManagingEditor:NellStewart-LibertyAdvertisingDirector:AnneDopsonAdvertising:RitaRedmond/AngelaGlynn ArtDirector:Kevin GurryDesigners:SuziTaylor/BrendanMcCarthyProduction Controller:CiaraBurrowesDirectorofOperations:Aidan Treacy Typesetting: TheCaseroomLtd. Colour:LithoColourPlatesPrinting:InternationalColourWebGreatSouthernHotelsSalesManager:AlexandraBaradi. Coyle Hamilton Insurance Brokers aqdng theNan” Broking peutic Managing Director Corporate Broking Division: H. D. Governey, A.C.I.1. Managing Director Employee Benefits and Investment Division: K. F. Kelly F.C.11. Te jfyh*.“ NEXttineyoureedINSURANCEtakto... Da) Coyle|Hamilton Dublin 01-616211 —Cork021-277505 Limerick061-316288 —London 03-071-480-7512 THE BUSINESS EQUIPMENT LEADERSI UNMISTAKABLY WILDE SPECIAL ABOUT HIM THAT NEVER FADES... A SHARED PLEASURE YOU CAN RETURN TO AGAIN AND AGAIN... LIKE IRISH MIST. H168 Tee FP Hugh Oram traces the history ofthe Great Southern Hotelgroup— the oldest hotelgroup in Ireland—from its inception in 1845 to thepresent day. mISTOR WIN I fam MAKING eee+eerrwsee LAMLS OF HILLAICNE | RAILWAY HOTEL, Once owned bya railway com- The Great Southern group says C. GOODMAN, pany, and now owned by Aer ofitselfthat it has been setting (LATEOFTHY AACKHVILLESTRELT CLUN. Rianta, the airports authority, the standards since 1845, for that was hotels in theGreatSouthern chain whenthe earliest hotel in the pre- | ThismogoiGccotEotablishment,admittedtobeoneoftheGocetinEurope,poreceece ‘ everything requisite to promote the comfort and contenicnce of the Nobility and present an enticing combination sentgroupopened,atEyreSquare, Tourists. ofold and new. Out ofthe seven Galway. It was built by the it CONTAINS | ONE HUNDECID BED-ROOME, hotels in the group, three are Midland and Western Railway A NOBLE COFFEE-ROOM, stately mansions, creations ofthe Company, between the new | A DRAWING-ROOM FOR LADIES AND FAMILIES, SEVERAL ELEGANT AND HANDSOMELY FURNISHED S6ITTING-ROOMS, great era of 19th century railway railway station and the square. i BILLIARD AND SMOKING-ROOMS, hotels,andfouraremodern. Passengers arriving from Dublin BATHS, ETC., ETC. *,° THE CHAROFS WILL BE FOUND MODERATE. AttheCorribGreatSouthernin just stepped outofthe steam train Galway, the finishing touches are into the hotel. The openingofthe | THE PORTERS OF THE HOTEL AWAIT THE ARRIVAL OF EACH TRAIN, FOR THE : RESIUVAL OF LUGGAGE, ETC. being put to a £6 million expan- Galway hotel coincided with the TABLE D'HOTE AT HALF-PAST 8IX O'CLOCK. . sion that will bring the bedroom start ofa packet service from the | fourtheconvenience of Commercial Gentlemen, a room has been establishedfor their total to 180 and make it the cityto St.John’s in Newfoundland accommodation. largesthotel and conference centre by the Atlantic Royal Mail POSTING.—Boats,Cars,Carriages,andPonies,atfixedmoderaterates. outside Dublin. The Shannon NavigationCompany. BoalmesaodDriversarepaidamplewages,withtheexpressuoderstaudiogtbattheyarenottosonoy Visitorsbysolicitatiousformooey. GreatSouthern, oppositethemain In 1918, the great, blocky grey PARTIES TAKEN AS BOARDERS AT A MODERATE CHARGE, terminal ofthe airport, is in the stone building facing onto Eyre FROMlstNOVEMBERTOIstJUNE. process ofbeingreopenedafterex- Square, the hub of Galway, was CONTINENTAL LANGUAGES SPOKEN BY THE MANAGER. tensive refurbishment. The requisitioned by the British Army, ALLATT ENDAKCECHSKOLD, Rosslare Great Southern and the who usedit as a barracks. Once Refertopages69&10ofthea Wor—k-f-o-rdescriptionoftheHotel. Torc in Killarney are the other the treaty was signed between the iee=nea+ modernhotelsinthegroup. new Irish Free State and Britain at the end of 1921, the hotel was directed the film “The Lindbergh taken over by the new Irish Army Story”> in the late 1940s, starring and in 1925,it reverted to railway James Stewart, the hotel was their company ownership. Today, the headquarters. In the late 1960s, majestic proportions ofthe hotel’s when Sir David Lean, who died 120 bedroomsgiveclueto itsex- recently, was making “Ryan’s pansive railwayorigins, as does the Daughter” with Robert Mitchum, RailwayBar. Trevor Howard, Sarah Miles and Managed by a German, Louis Sir John Mills, they were familiar Schill, who had been running an figuresintheimmediateregion. hotel in London, it was inaugu- Other film stars to have stayed rated with a dinner for the direc- at the Killarney Great Southern torsandafewoftheirfriends. The over the years included Charlie description ofthat dinner has set Chaplin, Bing Crosby, Susan the standard for the hotel over the Hayward, Bob Hope and Tyrone years: “the entertainment was so Power. wellcookedandservedas to augur The Great Southern Hotel at most favourably the future success Parknasilla is a mansion ofGothic of the establishment in the culi- extravagance, set amid the sub- nary department, and the wines, tropical scenicsplendours ofsouth champagne, burgundy,claret, port Kerry, lookingouton the bluewa- and sherry, were of the best vin- ters ofthe Kenmare Riverestuary. tages.” The hotel stands on 300 acres of thereturnjourney. Two innovative features drew almost tropical parkland, whose JustastheSouthern Hotelcom- Above: public attention. The hotel hadits origins go back to an Anglo-Irish pany was opening the new Parknasilla: own gasometer, which provided family called Bland, whosefirst Parknasillahotel at the turn ofthe ‘amansionofGothic gas for lighting the hotel. It also member to cometo Ireland was century, the firm was being taken had a large airing room; English the RevJames Bland, whoarrived over by the Great Southern and architectural writers who visited the hotel soon in 1692 as chaplain to Lord Western Railway, hence the “Great extravagance’. after it opened, Mr and Mrs Hall, Deputy Sidney. The Bland family Southern” namein the present noted that to prevent the danger created the Derryquin estate, now sevenhotelsinthegroup. Oppositepage: ofdampsheetsorbeds, everypiece known as Parknasilla, which is In 1925, the GS & W was TheGreatSouthern oflinen was kept in this heated usuallytranslated from theIrish as amalgamated withall the other HotelandPadraic chamberuntilrequired. “fieldofthewillows”. railways in the Irish Free State to O’Conaire—thetwo Just 11 years after the hotel Parknasilla is the hotel; there is form Great Southern Railways. mostfamousresidents opened,it launched another inno- novillageortownofthatname. Exactly20yearslater, in 1945, the ofEyreSquarein vation: the Killarney Navy, 24 In 1891, the houseand mostof GSR became part ofCéras lom- strong, under a commodorecalled the estate were bought by the pair Eireann, CIE, which was na- Galway. Jeremiah Clifford. The job ofthe Southern Hotel Company, which tionalisedin 1950. Formanyyears crew, all clad in sailor-like uni- addedextrabedrooms andopened subsequently, the Great Southern forms ofblue and white, was to the Southern Hotel in May, 1895. Hotels continuedunderCIEown- take tourists on trips around the At the turn of the century, the ership. famed lakes of Killarney. new hotel was opened, near the Once, Great Southern Hotels Today's Great Southern Hotel Bishop’sHouse, designedbyJames also owned, in addition to the in Killarney retains every inch of Franklin Fuller, a descendant of Kenmare hotel, now the Park, the its founding elegance. Guestsstill the Bland familywho onceowned Great Northern Hotel in Bun- make their entry to the hotel up theestate. doran (another hotel with a an imposing flight ofstone steps, Within a short time of the railway history), an hotel at lined with brass railings, to be Parknasilla hotel opening, the Mulraney in Co Mayo and a greeted in thevastentrancehall by tourist guide books wereecstatic modernhotelin Belfast. thealwaysburningfireinthegreat about the new hotel andits luxu- Now, under Aer Rianta owner- fireplace. For an hotel in the riant setting. Tourists had to be ship, an exciting new era has middle ofa bustling tourist town, brought from Kenmare railway opened up for the seven Great the bedroomsare very quiet; an- station,whichopenedin 1893and Southern Hotels, but the three other surprise is the 30 acres of closedin 1959,byhorsecarriage. oldest hotels, Eyre Square in gardens. Fromthehotel, guestswentout Galway, the Killarney Great Over the years, the hotel has on tours of the South Kerry Southern and Parknasilla, will al- had its notorious and its famous region, along roads lined with red ways retain that indelible connec- characters. DuringWorldWarI, a fuchsias and orange daylilies. A tion with the great age ofsteam German spy called Lodi was ar- 1902 guide book reported that it trains. Thesedays, thedifferenceis rested in the hotel and carted off cost 16 shillings to hire a one that tourists arrive by air and. the to theTower ofLondon, where he horse car from Parknasilla to horsecarriagehasbeen replacedby was executed. When Billy Wilder Waterville, 50 per cent more for thecar. CELEBRITY, PReapet tN GS Michael D. Higgins, poet and mayor ofGalway reflects on Co. Galway, one ofthe most beautiful counties in Ireland which has seen many changes over theyears but which has retained its character intact. Co. Galway is renownedforthe artistic and generous nature ofits inhabitants. GALWAY: A STATE OF MIND _ Co.Galwayisacounty Galwayisastateofmind. When I never leave. Galway today is the the canals and recalls the days of shroudedinamystique came to the city 30 years ago ev- fastest growing city in Europe. milling and distilleries, water in erybody spoke ofit as a town. The lastfewyears haveseen its re- the Baywhere nowasailing tradi- whichhasinspired Over the decades it has stretched tail structure change utterly under tion, that is ancient, has been manyartistsand itselfand becomea city with an the arrival of hundreds of new strengthened with the assistance writers. extraordinarycaptivatingquality. speciality shops, craft workshops, ofpeople such as Enda O’Coin- Therearemanywhoflirtwiththis financial services, restaurants and een whosingle handedly steered state ofmind that is Galway. In hostels. hiscraftacrosstheAtlantic. Dublin, when Galway is men- Looking back, I am in agree- Behindthelinesofwaterstands tioneditindicates aruptureofthe ment with an image ofBenedict the Connemara Ridge — ancient ordinary. People search for the Kiely. “Galway is about water,” I and beautiful. To its south is lo- past in Galway, have fantasies seem torememberhim saying. He cated « the largest surviving aboutanartistic present, drop out is right. The unchanging feature Gaeltacht that has produced such in Quay St, drop in to a series of ofthe cityiswater—waterin the writers as Mairtin O’Cadhain, in festivals ofwhich the centrepiece Corrib which flows into the sea his contribution to literature in istheArtsFestivalinJuly. from the magnificent Lough Irish, ofthestatureofJoyce. There are those who come and Corrib, water that flows through In the bay sit the Aran Islands, P OH OT RG A P H S : B I L L D O Y L E eeaeeS . noweasilyaccessible bysea or air. the democracyofphilosophers en- Even on atrip foraday, this place countered in cafés and pubs that ofstone charted in detail by Tim enthrals. Robinson casts a spell. FromAran In establishments such as came the writers Liam O'Flaherty O’Mailles you can speak Irish, and his nephew Breandan English or French as you look at O’hEithir, the superb poet tweeds bought bythe modern ori- Mairtin O Diredin and many ented representative of genera- others. tions oftweed specialists. You can The adventurouswill travel out browse through Kenny’s Book- to Clifden which nestles in the -shop, as known abroadasitis in middle ofthe Connemara moun- Galway or look at a breathtaking tains andwhichhas beenachosen range ofcontemporary paintings. retreat ofpainterssuch as Maurice There is the restored mill, Sheelah MacGonigal and actors including naGigsbookshopwhereaconver- PeterO'Toole. sation about the namewill not be It is not the physical setting, dull—I could go on, I shouldgo Paddy Gannon, and thousands Afeatureofthe however, that makes the Galway on. Spaceprecludesmytendency. who have pride in the profes- Connemaralandscape experience. It is not the obvious For many, however, one ofthe sionalism of their work and who isthetraditionalstone antiquity of its Norman stone first figures they will encounter have made Great Southern Hotels buildings. standing outside the Great South- the flagship ofIreland’s hotel in- cottageswiththatched Itis the spirit ofits inhabitants. ern Hotel is that ofDenis or one dustry, training so manyofthose roofs—apermanent This spirit is generous and ofhiscolleagues. who go on to work elsewhere, at reminderofabygone modern. The modern Galwayis a His great cape and hat covers a homeandabroad. age. delicate creation — the work of heart that I have found to befull It was upstairs in the Claddagh artists and those who promote ofgenerous information, warmth Rooms, that artist Mick Mulcahy them, such as Ollie Jennings, andcompetence. , and I worked together as he pre- morethananyothergroup. In an age ofasset manipulation pared the artwork for mycol- True the Corporation has man- the Great Southern Hotels group’s lectionofpoems TheBetrayal... aged to ensure the planned envi- greatest asset is not the magni- Sitting on a chair I read them ronmentIs sensitive and its urban ficent reputation they have out as Mick worked. On breaks renewalprogrammehasbroughtit worked to create and deservedly the coffee kept coming ... we acclaim and awards.It is also true won. lookedoutatthe lightsofGalway. that institutions such as its two It is Denis and his colleagues The nightwasstill. Itwas all hap- Third Level educational centres whoare the Group’s greatestasset. peninginGalway... haveexcelled. Over the years visitors to Galway It is the conversation, the wit, have been assisted by Denis, Galway—yes.Astateofmind. WY \Gs :bs& a zt4