Galway Bay FM
5 April 2021
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Galway Bay FM Newsroom – City planners have backed a proposal to amalgamate the Forster Court Hotel with the adjoining former tourist office.
The proposal is led by Connacht Hospitality Forster Street Ltd.
It would see internal alterations to amalgamate the hotel with the adjoining building formally known as ‘Aras Fáilte Tourist Information Office’ at basement, ground and first floor levels.
This would also involve a change of use of the adjoining building from tourist information centre including ancillary offices and retail space to a hotel or conference centre.
The development sets out to make way for 11 hotel suites at first floor level, as well as alterations at ground floor level to facilitate the enlargement of the existing Forster Court Hotel restaurant bar area and new conference centre reception.
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John Burke, the managing director of the Armada Hotel and the first Clare person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, is never one to shy away from a challenge.
Just six months after the Spanish Point business clinched the Hotel of the Year and Best Wedding Venue accolades at the Gold Medal Awards, Burke had to temporarily lay off staff when the coronavirus pandemic hit Ireland. The initial lockdown was fairly severe, on myself and everyone who worked for me, he says.
Once Burke had come to terms with the hotel s closure and disappearance of its spring wedding business, he decided to put the hotel s hibernation to good use. By May, he had launched the first in a long series of initiatives aimed at giving a sense of purpose to remaining staff and generating fresh income streams - a cocktail delivery service called the Blend Box. It includes Mist+Moss, a gin brand the Armada had set up a couple of months earlier, scented candles (since replaced by QR codes for playlists) and garn
John Burke, the managing director of the Armada Hotel and the first Clare person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, is never one to shy away from a challenge.
THE GASTROPUB
The O Crowley family s An Súgán has been a bastion of good food in Clonakilty, Co Cork, for more than 40 years. Sinead O Crowley tells me how they ve been coping in the pandemic. My mum and dad set up An Súgán in 1978. I ve been involved since 1997. Over the years, we ve expanded to include a guesthouse and a cafe called Aris. It s where I grew up, I look on it as my home. Closing the doors last March was very emotional. There was and still is a very real worry for those who have worked for us, but staff, suppliers and customers have been very supportive and loyal.