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 It has been confirmed today that the Aherlow House Hotel, Aherlow, Co. Tipperary, which closed rather abruptly on February 9th 2016, will soon reopen to guests and their patrons on the 3rd March 2016, after the property was sold to a Dublin based hotel operator.
This news now means jobs have been secured as a result of this sale and also ensures the availability of this excellent venue to future wedding couples and other events, which had previously booked ahead into 2016, 2017 and 2018.
It is understood that up to 40 couples had secured their future wedding bookings at this venue and were being forced, following the closure, to seek alternative hotel arrangements, without any guarantee regarding large deposits previously paid in advance while securing upcoming events.
It is understood that Mr Adrian Shanagher, an experienced hotel operator, based in Dublin, has now purchased the popular venue and is anxious to honour all future weddings that were booked with the previous tenant company. He has confirmed that he will offer couples full credit against their future wedding costs in Aherlow House Hotel.
The new purchaser is also expected to begin immediately to refurbishment and upgrade this newly acquired property, with a view to reopening for business on the 3rd March 2016.
Do you wish to highlight what your business can offer to customers?
Do you feel the need to inform those in the community, precisely what your organisation is attempting to achieve?
If so, then the upcoming Thurles Enterprise Town Expo could be just the thing for you.
Thurles Branch of Bank of Ireland, through their Manager Patricia Ryan, is facilitating an initiative which will see a major expo based on the three pillars – Business, Community and Schools – of our local community, with same taking place on Friday and Saturday March 11th and 12th in St Patrick’s College, here in Thurles.
Following a very successful and well attended launch at the B.O.I. branch in liberty Square on Thursday evening last, full community participation is anticipated in a drive to portray Thurles as the Enterprise Town.
A special organising committee has been established for the event and a fun run/walk will also be part of the activities which will see clubs, organisations, societies and community associations, rubbing shoulders with the many superb businesses operating in Thurles; together with the schools/colleges; to showcase their overall activities. This promises to be a very unique event for the premier town.
Patricia Ryan told those in attendance last week; “We are privileged to be able to introduce the Enterprise Town concept to Thurles. Everyone will have a chance to showcase everything they wish and having witnessed it first hand in Callan, County Kilkenny where I live, I can vouch for the success of the programme and the benefits to be accrued.”
As part of this initiative Thurles Vintage Club will also hold a Tractor Run on the 13th March, thereby making the event in reality more of a three day occasion. The chosen charities for the Enterprise Town are Suir Haven and North Tipperary Hospice with the funds being raised through registration for the Tractor Run, and also for the Fun Walk/Run on the Saturday morning. Entry, for participants and visitors to the Expo in St Patrick’s College is free of charge to both exhibitors and visitors, but exhibitors must book in advance in order to be allocated exhibition space.
Thurles Chamber of Commerce elected President, Mr John Butler backed whole heartedly the initiative and commended Bank of Ireland for putting Thurles forward as an Enterprise Town. “Here is”, he stated, “a great opportunities to promote Thurles and what it has to offer from a business, community and enterprise perspective”.
Exhibitors will be allocated space in the chosen venue on Friday afternoon – the event takes place from 4:00pm – 7:00pm on Friday and from 11:00am – 2:00pm on Saturday. Bank of Ireland will match the funds raised for both charities up to a maximum of €1,000. There will also be a schools element to the initiative with opportunities to view school exhibits in the afternoon – the students of today are the business people of tomorrow after all.
Josette Hartnett, a native of Thurles, who has worked on a number of Enterprise Town programmes, said she was thrilled to have it in her native town and outlined the benefits which can accrue from it. She encouraged all Businesses, Enterprises, Clubs, Societies and Organisations to get involved and stated that participation in the event will help to open up those participating to a much wider audience.
A keynote speaker at this event will be announced very soon and the hard working committee are putting the preparations in place to ensure that everything runs smoothly over the course of the two day event.
Remember: If you are interested in participating, you must register with Bank of Ireland immediately. “This can be a major success for Thurles and I encourage everyone to get involved,” stated B.O.I. Branch Manager Patricia Ryan.
 The Heritage Council has announced it will allocate €700,000 to heritage projects under its 2016 Heritage Management Grant Scheme. The grants are aimed at supporting projects that apply good heritage practice to the management of places, collections or objects (including buildings).
Grant applications must be submitted on the Heritage Council’s online application system before 5:00pm on Monday, March 7th 2016.
Speaking about the grants scheme, Heritage Council Chief Executive, Michael Starrett stated; “The past number of years has brought many challenges to those working hard to preserve and promote Ireland’s heritage and to highlight its significance to people and their places. In that context, the Heritage Council is delighted to be able to offer some financial assistance to community-based heritage projects. These local projects are very important in protecting our heritage, as well as creating jobs and promoting local tourism”.
We understand that grant aid is supported by National Lottery funding and Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht. Applications for this online grants system, which was due to end on February 29th, has now been extended to a Monday 7th March, deadline.
Grants may be awarded for:-
•The preparation of a conservation report, conservation plan or conservation management plan to inform future works (a ‘Conservation Plan’ is a plan prepared in accordance with the process set out in The Burra Charter (http://australia.icomos.org/wp-content/uploads/The-Burra-Charter-2013-Adopted-31.10.2013.pdf): The Australia ICOMOS Charter for Places of Cultural Significance, 2013).
•The carrying out of actions that are in accordance with a fully developed conservation plan or a management plan that applies good heritage practice.
•Works to buildings and structures where the special heritage interest of the building or structure is demonstrated to be at risk.
•Conservation of heritage collections and objects, including documents.
•Conservation or management of a wildlife site where a conservation/management plan exists.
Note: Applications must be submitted through he Heritage Council’s online Grants System located at http://www.heritagecouncil.ie/grants/grants/.
Word of Warning: Please ensure you use search engine Internet Explorer only when attempting to use the online grants application system shown above, as the system is not, alas, compatible with ‘Firefox’.
Auburn Hotels (Aherlow) Limited, Aherlow, Co. Tipperary has announced, with great regret, that it has been obliged to cease trading as Aherlow House Hotel, with effect from the 9th February 2016.
The scenic hotel has surrendered possession of the hotel premises to the Receiver of Aherlow House Hotel Ltd, Mr Costelloe of Messrs Grant Thornton’s, Limerick office, with immediate effect.
Auburn Hotels (Aherlow) Limited had been in negotiations with the receiver of the hotel over an extended period with regard to the future of the property and in the expectation that it could remain operating the premises, having envisaged that bookings could be taken for functions for dates into the future.
It is now understood that the receiver intends to place the hotel for sale on the open market and that the present lease granted will not be renewed or extended; leaving the company with no option but to cease trading with immediate effect.
Some 25 employment contracts held by the hotels staff have been now terminated and the hotel will not itself be in a position to carry through bookings already confirmed. The hotel is understood to have in excess of 40 weddings and other functions confirmed for the year ahead, but say it will not be in a position to meet future commitments. However the Receiver has requested full particulars of all bookings for weddings and functions to be furnished to them, together with full particulars of all staff currently employed. Same information will be passed on to all / any interested future purchasers.
 Functions booked to take place in the immediate future at Aherlow House Hotel have now been accommodated at other venues including Kilcoran Lodge Hotel, Cahir and at the Clonmel Park Hotel, some 25km to 43km distance from the Aherlow venue.
Dundrum House Hotel
Fears are also growing for the immediate future of the wonderful Dundrum House Hotel, in Dundrum Co. Tipperary, situated some 28km from Aherlow House, where 110 employees have been given notice that their place of employment may also close within a month unless a new buyer can be located.
The loss of both superb Tipperary hotel venues are seen as a massive economic blow to the over all future of tourism in Co. Tipperary, particularly through attendance at numerous visitor centres, museums and the wider county’s rural economy.
Such job losses are not expected to feature on any Irish TV channels, unlike the loss of 140 jobs in Cleary’s department store in O’Connell Street, Dublin. Tipperary after all is only a jobless region somewhere in a long forgotten ‘Rural Ireland’.
The recent CSO Live Register Figures published for Co. Tipperary in recent days continue to remain dismal reading. See the figures shown hereunder or check for yourselves, using search criteria All Ages, Both Sexes, Welfare Office.
The 652 pre General Election 2016 jobs announced between July and September of last year (2015) for South Tipperary e.g. 200 new jobs for Clonmel at Eishtec, announced in September 2015; 300 new jobs in Cashel at US generic drugs giant Amneal Pharmaceuticals announced in August 2015; and 152 jobs at ABP Food Group in Cahir announced in July 2015, have so far failed to materialise. Instead South Tipperary this month records an increase of a further 22 persons on their Live Register; when comparing months January 2016 against figures recorded on the 31st of December 2015.
North Co. Tipperary this month appears to have fared slightly better with a decrease of 48 persons registered. Some 700 jobs promised for North Tipperary some three weeks ago just before this month’s General Election will not materialise however before March 2017 in respect of 300 jobs; with the other 400 jobs not expected to materialize until 2019.
In the case of the latter 700 promised jobs, at least 30% – 40% of these employees are expected to be skilled transient workers, brought to the North Tipperary area because of their particular skills within their already existing employment in firms; Siga Hydro, Roadbridge, Sisk, Strabag Group, Andritz Hydro and US multi-national First Data.
Unemployment in Tipperary is now running roughly 2.9% above the national figure of 8.6% unemployment; latter being claimed as “A Recovery” by the present outgoing Fine Gael & Labour government.
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