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€6.3m judgement against hotel developer

A businessman who bought and refurbished a Kildare hotel which later went into receivership has had summary judgment for €6.3m entered against him in the High Court.

Danske Bank, formerly National Irish Bank, sought the judgment against Sean McElvaney over guarantees for his company Connotes for loans relating to a €6.4m facility in 2004 on matters including development work at the former Setanta House Hotel in Celbridge.

There was a default on the loans and, in 2011, the bank appointed a receiver over the hotel. It was sold and the bank received around €815,000 when the receivership was completed.

Mr McElvaney claimed when he signed the guarantee for Connotes’ loans, he believed his liability was limited to €1.3m.

Foynes Hosts Pan Am Reunion

Stories and experiences of Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) and its unique relationship with Foynes are being shared in County Limerick where more than 350 former workers and associates of the airline have gathered.

Organised by Foynes Flying Boat & Maritime Museum and supported by Fáilte Ireland and the Shannon Region Conference & Sports Bureau the event, which runs from to-day (Tuesday) until Friday, represents the final ever Pan Am World Reunion and is only the second to be hosted in Europe.

Foynes was the first European Airport to which Pan Am began operating commercial transatlantic services on July 9th 1939 under the command of Captain Harold Gray. The ‘Yankee Clipper’ was the airline's first Boeing B314 NC18603 allocated to the Atlantic division. A replica of the aircraft is on display at Foynes Flying Boat & Maritime Museum. Captain Charlie Blair, husband of the late Maureen O'Hara, was a frequent visitor and flew the last scheduled passenger flight from Foynes to New York in October 1945.

Lough Ernje loses 2017 'Open'

The European Tour has announced that the 2017 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open will no longer be staged at Lough Erne.

The event may now be held o0n a links course.

Keith Pelley, the European Tour Chief Executive, said:

“Details of the 2017 venue will be announced in due course, but in the meantime we are solely focused on ensuring that the 2016 tournament, which will be staged at The K Club in County Kildare in six weeks’ time, is a great success.”

Bright Q1 for Irish Tourism

Fáilte Ireland has told hundreds of buyers here for a trade fair that tourism has enjoyed a robust first quarter in 2016 and the indications are that this summer will be another busy season for the sector.

But it has cautioned against over-complacency on the eve of its annual tourism trade fair, Meitheal 2016, which takes place in the RDS today and tomorrow.

Failte Ireland has also published its annual Visitor Attitudes Survey which shows that overseas holidaymakers to Ireland last year continued to rate the country as good value for money and that the country matched or exceeded their expectations as a holiday destination.

With regard to how tourism is performing so far this year, the omens are good. Seat capacity on airlines flying into Ireland is this summer is projected to grow 9% on summer 2015 and, across the country, tourism businesses are reporting increased bookings.

Hotelier Wins Injunction

The operator of Lynams Hotel in Dublin city centre has secured a temporary High Court injunction allowing her to retain possession of the premises.

Theresa Andreucetti has run the hotel at 63/64 Upper O’Connell Street since 2008 and employs 21 people.

She went to court on Friday after an agent for a receiver entered the hotel last Tuesday, telling staff he was taking possession because Ms Andreucetti had failed to pay some €528,000 in arrears of rent.