Mr C’s life time of memories from The Greville

It’s not surprising that John Cochrane has plenty to say about his 35 years as manager of The Greville Arms Hotel.

For three and a half decades the Moate native, known affectionately by fellow staff memories as ‘Mr C’, oversaw the day to day running of a hotel that has been a landmark, physically and socially, on the Mullingar townscape since 1750.

Interestingly, he took over from his wife Angela as manager of the hotel in 1988. By that stage he had accrued more than a decade’s experience in the hospitality industry, starting his career in the Burlington Hotel in Dublin after sitting his Leaving Certificate in the Carmelite College in his home town of Moate.

“At the time it [the Burlington] was biggest hotel in Ireland and had its own management course. I spent three months in every department and six months in the kitchen. The two years spent training was a fantastic experience because it was hands-on. Your learned the business inside and out.

“You cannot beat training in the business. College and university are important, but there has to be a balance between hands-on and [the classroom]. There is a place for both.”

John spent a year and half working as the duty manager in the hotel, then the most best known and more prestigious in the country, before moving to another hospitality institution, the Royal Dublin Hotel in O’Connell Street. He spent a year there before moving to The Kirwan Arms in Athboy, his last position before the Greville Arms.

John’s parents ran a busy drapery shop on the Main Street in Moate when he was growing up, but he had “no interest” in joining the family business, he says. As a youngster, much of his energies were devoted to sport and the GAA, in particular. He was a member of the Carmelite College team who famously won the Hogan Cup in 1976 and later played on the Moate All Whites team who contested two county finals in the 1980s.

He still has a huge interested in the GAA. While his club loyalties are now divided between the All Whites and St Loman’s, Mullingar, where his son Conor has played all his life, he is a big supporter of the Westmeath GAA teams.

The Greville sponsored the Westmeath team who won the county’s first and, to date, only Leinster Football Championship, as well as the U21 who won the All-Ireland in 1999 featuring many of the same players.

The hotel was the fulcrum of the post final celebrations and John, who spoke to the Westmeath Examiner on the day before his retirement in late November, has fond memories of those heady days and long, long nights.

“That night when they arrived home, from back door to front door was full except one function room we kept closed for the team. I always remember when the bus came up the town with the team, the streets were jammed with people and the bus crawled up the town. The guards did a great job getting them up safely.

“The memories of that day they won the Leinster Championship are just dream stuff. I am a football fan and being the main sponsors of the team, it was just fantastic. It meant so much to people.

“It was great when Westmeath ladies won the All-Ireland in 2021 and when the men’s team won the Tailteann Cup last year. We organised the final homecoming. We organised the whole thing behind the scenes, and when they won we made a few phone calls, and everything was put in place quickly.

“We had a huge reception in town that night.”

When it comes to success on the football field, paying attention to detail is key. It’s not dissimilar to the hospitality game.

“Planning in advance is just so important. It’s all about preparation. I always think the biggest problem is when you take it for granted that something is done. You must always double check everything. They day you don’t, you are in trouble. No matter how often you have done a function, you always have to go back and check things the day before, because it is too late the next day.”

The organisation skills of John and his colleagues were really put to the test in recent years thanks to the return of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann after 59 years.

The Greville’s Fleadh Village was the place to be if you were aged between 18 and 35. Every evening, young people queued for hours to get in. The Fleadh Village was John’s idea and while he knew it would do well, he admits he was surprised at just how well it did.

“The idea was that it would be self contained. You’d have the marquee, the bands, the full bar, toilet facilities and a burger van. Once you went in, you were full self contained in an entertainment village for the fleadh.

“If you had told someone there’d be queues the full length of Church Avenue, they’d never have believed you. It was just dream stuff.

“We were doing the planning for the fleadh for four or five months beforehand. We had an awful lot of meetings and the work we did paid off.

“Everyone has to be on top of their own department and singing from same hymn sheet, otherwise it doesn’t work. Al of the staff had smiles on their faces and got into the spirit of it. That was fantastic to see. A lot of planning went in to putting it all together. We were very proud of them.”

Full of praise for Joe Connaire and the rest of the Fleadh Executive Committee, John says Mullingar will benefit from the success of the fleadh for years to come.

The town, like the hotel, has grown significantly over the last 35 years. One of the standout events of John’s early years came in 1992 when RTÉ chose the Greville as the national base for its phone centre during that year’s Telethon People in Need.

The Telethon was one of the biggest TV events of the year and dozens of celebrities were on the phones in the ballroom. At a time when TV was central, the news that the Telethon was coming to the Greville created huge excitement.

“Derek Davis was presenting and talking to people who brought in cheques. We had live TV for five or six hours that day, which was unheard of at the time.

“Gay Byrne was presenting from Dublin and the celebrities were on the phone from the Greville. Gerry Ryan was travelling around the country and finished the evening in the Greville. It was a huge thing at the time and the hotel was a great location.”

A hotel is nothing though if it doesn’t have patrons who want to come through its doors. While people’s expectations have changed over the years, a few simple constants remain the same, John believes.

“At the end of the day, they want to come in to a premises that is hot and that has atmosphere. They want good quality drinks at the bar and excellent food. We never cut back on the quality of our food and our ingredients. You have to buy top quality everything. Our policy has always been over the years to buy the top quality product. If you come in a buy and steak or another dinner in the Greville Arms, you are getting top quality food.”

When it comes to his new status as a retiree, John says he is going to take a few months off before making any plans.

A sprightly 65, he also intends to keep up his weekly five-a-side game with friends in Gainstown. The games are played in the right spirit, but they have just enough of an edge to keep the competitive juices flowing.

“If I had been told when I was 30 or 40 that I’d still be playing football at 65, I wouldn’t have believed you. We play every Wednesday night, half eight to half nine, hail, rain or snow. Maybe once a year we might call it off, but very seldom. It clears the head. It’s fantastic.

“We have it that there are no sliding tackles, but when you are playing, you want to win the game. It’s serious enough when you are playing. There is no fighting, but there might be a few serious discussions during the game if you thought you should have a penalty!”

After years of working long and often unsociable hours, John is especially looking forward to spending time with those closest to him. One thing on the horizon is a well earned holiday with Angela.

“I always tried to work every function in the hotel. There were few functions I ever missed. You might be late going to a family do or something else because there was a function on, but that is the nature of the job.

“My wife Angela has been very supportive throughout my working career. There are many times I joined her at a function late, if I made it at all. Then my son Conor and his wife Sarah and my daughter Katie, they have always been one hundred per cent supportive.”

After decades managing one of the busiest hotels in the midlands, John acknowledges that retirement might take a bit of getting used to. It’s the people that he will miss the most. “I was lucky coming in here because the hotel is owned by Christy Maye and his family. Christy, his wife Ellen, Jason, Leanne, Gillian and her husband David, are a supportive family and fantastic to work for.

“It’s the staff who make the hotel what it is and I can never thank them enough for their cooperation and help over the years.”

Mullingar’s unofficial community centre where people of all ages and positions on the socio-economic ladder come to mark life’s major and minor moments, the Greville has played a huge part in John’s life and he leaves it with a head full happy memories.

“It went quickly. No matter where you go in Ireland, people associate Mullingar with two things: Joe Dolan and the Greville Arms Hotel.

“People tell you stories or share their memories [of the Greville]. No matter who you speak to, they have memories of being in the Greville Arms.

“I was lucky enough to be in Áras an Uachtarán with my wife Angela, as part of a group, and I was talking to Mary McAleese, who was the president at the time. She told me that she used to come with her father as a young girl.

“It’s amazing that no matter who you speak to, from all walks of life, they have memories of the Greville Arms. To have worked in a business that has such a name is fantastic.”

The great, the good...and Páidí!

John has met every Taoiseach from Charlie Haughey through to Leo Varadkar, as well as numerous other senior politicians when they have popped in to the Greville while on the campaign trail.

He also has fond memories of meeting and getting to know superstars from the worlds of sport and entertainment, including homegrown heroes Joe Dolan and Niall Horan.