News

JP wants a 'Seafood Christmas'

Chef JP McMahon has called for people to include Irish seafood into their festive dining this year, to create new traditions celebrating seafood when it’s at its best. jpmcmahon

JP said: “Turkey came from America in the 16th century. They were big and cheap. Popularised by Henry VIII and Queen Victoria, turkey was a practical solution to the problem of large families. Ham, on the other hand, seems to be associated with pagan Germanic tribes celebrating the new year. Indeed, most of the other food and drink traditions that we associate with Christmas all arise out of earlier pagan festivals.

“This time of year is when Irish seafood, shellfish and seaweed is at its best, due to colder water, and moreover a time when it’s forgotten. At times we forget that we are people of the sea as well as the land.”

Fellowship for Ronnie at IHI Awards

Ronnie Counihan, chief executive of Renvyle House Hotel, Connemara was awarded a Fellowship of the Irish Hospitality Institute at the annual Founders Banquet in the Clayton ronnie2

Burlington Hotel, Dublin last night (Thursday).

The long-serving hotel manager has been at Renvyle since 2000 and previously held senior management posts at Great Southern Hotels. He is a graduate of the Athenry Hotel School and the International Hotel School Galway.

During the banquet, which was attended by 600 hospitality professionals, Fellowships were also conferred on Dominic Dillane, Head of the School of Hospitality Management at TU Dublin, Stephen Hanna, general manager of the Camden Court Hotel and Aaron Mansworth, managing director of Trigon Hotels.

The evening also featured the IHI Hospitality Management Awards at which Alan Buckley, Jurys Inn, Parnell Street, Dublin was named ‘Hotel General Manager of the Year’. Other awards went to Emer Priestly, Shannon College of Hotel Management (Hospitality Graduate), Denise Meenaghan, Radisson Blu Hotel, Sligo (Hospitality Employee), Keith O’Sullivan, Masterchefs Hospitality (Young Hospitality Manager), Kathleen Linehan, Trigon Hotels (HR and Training Manager), Sigitas Zubriskas, Sodexo Ireland (Catering Manager), Brian Farrell, Clayton Burlington Hotel (Finance Manager)(, Declan McKenna, The Guinness Storehouse (Revenue Manager), Aine Martin, Hotel Doolin (Environment and Facilities Manager), Eveanna Ryan, Connacht Hospitality (Sales and Marketing Manager), Alex Staskunos, Compass Group at Aviva Stadium (Food and Beverage Manager), Michelle O’Donnell , Masterchefs Hospitality (Executive Head Chef) and Diana Pyzio, Jurys Inn Cork (Deputy Hoel Manager)

Autumn Bar sales down

Sales in bars fell both in terms of volume and revenue in August, September, and October from the same period last year, CSO retail figures show. pub

Volume sales in bars fell 3% and were down 1.2% in terms of the value of those sales, the largest decline posted by any of 13 retail business types apart from department stores in the period, according to the figures.

Ahead of any Black Friday online sales gains, the big gainers in the three months were retailers of electrical goods where volume sales surged 15.8% from last year, while furniture and lighting retailers had volume sales gains of 7.8%. Retailers of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics also performed well by posting an annual increase of over 5% in the three months.

The CSO said that in October overall retail sales fell 0.5% from September but were up 3% from October 2018.

New Cork-Amsterdam service

Tourism Ireland has welcomed the announcement by KLM of a new daily flight from Amsterdam to Cork, commencing at the end of March 2020. The new service will provide a cork1119

welcome boost for tourism from the Dutch market to Cork and the South of Ireland next year.

Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “Today’s announcement is really good news for tourism to Cork and the South of Ireland for 2020. It will certainly expand travel options for Dutch holidaymakers wishing to visit this part of Ireland. We already work very closely with KLM and we look forward to co-operating with them, and with Cork Airport and other tourism interests, to maximise the promotion of this new service from Amsterdam. As an island, the importance of convenient, direct, non-stop flights cannot be overstated – they are absolutely critical to achieving growth in inbound tourism.

'Twixmas' at Tulfarris

Tulfarris Hotel and Golf Resort, Co. Wicklow has launched a 'Twixmas Getaway' Guests can enjoy an overnight stay with a full Irish breakfast from €39.80 per person sharing. tulfarris1119

The package can be tailored to include a 3-course meal in the Lime Tree Restaurant from €74.50 per person. Guests are also treated to a glass of bubbly on arrival!

The Play Stay and Dine Package at Tulfarris (from €84.50 per person sharing) offers guests the chance to play 18-holes on the championship golf course before being treated to a gourmet three course meal in the AA Rosette Lime Tree Restaurant.