Ballymahon hotel opens to the public after five-year gap
By Rebekah O'Reilly
Newcastle House Hotel, located near Ballymahon, has re-opened its doors after a five-year closure to the public.
The family-run business closed to the public in 2020 due to the pandemic, and had been hosting Ukrainian refugees, whilst maintaining a close relationships with locals.
"We're so delighted to be back open," said Richard Heighton, Managing Director of Newcastle House. "The whole team is just so happy to see the hotel back up and running.
"We have been supporting people in need in the community since our closure in 2020, but it has been a very challenging time for business."
Ahead of the grand re-opening, Newcastle House welcomed six new staff to their team, bringing the total number of employees up to 14.
"We're a family-run business, so we all work here," Mr Heighton said. "The Ukrainian chef stayed on as well, and we will be looking into hiring more staff in the near future, and creating jobs in our local area."
The hotel has undergone a number of upgrades since its closure, including a new covering on the outdoor pool, improvements to the snooker room, and the addition of a new beauty salon.
"We have the facilities for the beauty salon, including a hair salon, and we're just looking for someone to run it now."
Set on the banks of the River Inny near Ballymahon, the 350-year-old manor house has quite a significant standing in its locality.
The family-run business offers guest the chance to take in the most scenic views and gorgeous woodland walks the Midlands has to offer.
"There's a number of people in our local community who have supported us for years. Considering we have only been opened for a week, things have been going very well.
"We had almost 1,000 people last Saturday (March 10) for the re-opening, the hotels and gardens re-opened to the public, and we did tours of the grounds and the hotel. We were fully booked out for dinner for our first Sunday (March 16) back."
The hotel previously had plans to expand into a major holiday resort, but these are in abeyance currently.
The plan concerned 99 mobile homes along with an area for touring pitches and casual camping spaces, a reception hut, a playground and separate grass play area
"We still have hopes to carry on with our plan to expand the hotel, however it is now looking like it will be further down the line," Mr Heighton said.