Profits at the luxurious Dromoland Castle jumped nearly €1m last year
The five-star hotel and golf course turned over almost €20 million in 2015.
PROFITS AT THE famous five-star Dromoland Castle hotel jumped nearly six-fold last year, rising by almost €1 million in the space of 12 months.
Accounts just filed for the hotel’s holding company showed that profits hit €1.15 million in 2015, compared to slightly above €200,000 the year before.
Accumulated profits stood at nearly €12.5 million at the end of the period for the firm, which also controls the castle’s conference centre and golf course.
Revenue increased to around €19.5 million – up 13% on the previous year.
The history of the castle, which is located in vicinity of Newmarket-on-Fergus in County Clare, dates back to the early 15th or 16th century.
The building and 410-acre surrounding grounds were bought in 1962 by American businessman Bernard P. McDonough and converted into a hotel.
McDonough poured $1.8 million into the redevelopment of the 500-year-old building and went on to build three other hotels in Ireland – the Shannon International, the Clare Inn and the Limerick Inn.
Former billionaire Tony O’Reilly was a part-owner of the Dromoland company until AIB was granted priority over €2.7 million worth of his shares last year.
It was attempting to recover more than €22 million from the businessman, who in November declared bankruptcy in the Bahamas.
Company filings show Dromoland had assets worth nearly €29 million and debts of more than €6 million at the end of last year. It employed an average of 114 staff over the 12 months.
Applegreen battle
Dromoland Castle also hit the headlines in 2015 when it successfully blocked Applegreen plans to develop a service station on a site less than a kilometre from the hotel.
The company voiced concern to Clare County Council that the development would harm “the visual integrity” of its tourism and recreational facilities.
Former US president George Bush at the castle in 2004
Over the course of its 50-odd year history, the hotel has played host to a number of high-profile events and guests.
In 2004, the EU-US Summit was held at the castle and was attended by former president George Bush.
Other famous political leaders and movie stars have also added their names to the guestbook over the years, including John Travolta, Johnny Cash, Nelson Mandela and Muhammad Ali.
