Pat McDonagh takes over the Charleville Park Hotel

SUPERMAC’S boss Pat McDonagh has taken ownership of the Charleville Park Hotel and is planning a €1m upgrade of facilities at the hotel in the coming months.

The hotelier, who also owns the Castletroy Park Hotel in Limerick, finally took possession of the 91-bedroom hotel this Monday after a lengthy 12 month process since agreeing the purchase. The deal will protect jobs at the hotel, in excess of 100 in total.

Mr McDonagh, who founded the Supermac’s chain in 1978 which now has more than 100 outlets nationwide, said he was “delighted to be safeguarding jobs locally which may otherwise have been lost” as a result.

“We are also most pleased that people who have events booked in the hotel can look forward to them in confidence and can be assured of receiving the finest quality hospitality and service,” he said.

“The Charleville Park Hotel has a proud history of service to the town of Charleville and the whole hinterland of North Cork and Limerick. The Hotel itself is a landmark stopping point on the journey between two great cities and is renowned as a meeting point for business, leisure and a range of community activities,” he continued.

Mr McDonagh said he would embark on a “significant investment programme” to upgrade the hotel’s facilities and was “committed to improving the service and offerings” of the Charleville Park.

“We plan to invest in excess of €1 million to upgrade the infrastructure and design features of the hotel over the coming months, making it even more comfortable for guests and visitors.”

The Charleville purchase is thought to have been for a sum close to €5m and coincided with the McDonagh family opening the Barack Obama Plaza, a €7m-plus motorway filling station at Moneygall on the Limerick to Dublin road, with visitor centre commemorating the US president’s links to the village, last year.

In May 2012, a receiver was appointed to the Charleville Park Hotel by Bank of Scotland. It had a price tag of €3.75m but was bid well above that by a number of interested parties.

It is now the third hotel owned by the McDonagh family, joining the Lough Rea Hotel in their native county Galway, and the Castletroy Park, which the former school teacher purchased in 2012.

The hotel has 91 bedrooms and five executive suites. Other facilities include a 25 metre swimming pool, a gym and a conference centre/function room.

For more on this story, see the weekend editions of the Limerick Leader, in shops on Thursday morning.

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