
Ciara is ‘Queen of the West’
Ciara Faherty from Castlecourt Hotel’s Sales & Marketing team has been announced as the 2024/2025 Irish Hotels Federation Mayo Branch “Employee of the Year”.
The announcement was made at an awards lunch in the Breaffy House Hotel, where guests gathered to celebrate and recognise 11 nominees from hotels and guesthouses across Mayo who have made an outstanding contribution to their workplace.?
Congratulating Ciara on the award, IHF Mayo Chair Declan Heneghan said that, when selecting her as the winner, the judges highlighted Ciara’s passion for people with an ability and intuition to see what guests want before they know it themselves. He also spoke about the very special customer interactions that front-facing staff develop with customers and guests.
Ciara began her career in the Westport Hotel Group as part of the team at Portos Restaurant in the Castlecourt Hotel, where she worked while completing her degree in Tourism & Event Management at Institute of Technology, Sligo. During her ten years’ service, Ciara has moved into the role of Over 55’s Group Co-Ordinator with Castlecourt Hotel’s Sales & Marketing team, where she organises the needs and requirements of customers in this bracket while building market share and creating themed breaks for the market across the Group’s hotels.
Other presentations on the day included a “Highly Commended Award” for Aidan Giblin, Accommodation Assistant at Westport Woods Hotel.
The IHF Mayo Branch extends its gratitude to the expert judging panel of Padraig Nolan (IHF Galway Branch Chair and General Manager of the Oranmore Lodge Hotel) and Nuala McLoughlin (HR Advisor, Irish Hotels Federation) who had the difficult job of selecting a winner from the nominees.
Pictured are Deirdre Fitzsimons, IHF Director of People Services; Michael Magner, IHF National President, alongside Nominees: Jade Nolan (Breaffy House Hotel); Ciara Faherty (Castlecourt Hotel), IHF Mayo Employee of the Year; Aidan Giblin (Westport Woods Hotel), IHF Mayo Highly Commended Award Winner; Milric Alngohuro (Ashford Castle); Declan Heneghan, IHF Mayo Branch Chair; Justyna Samborska (Clew Bay Hotel); Hillary Sweeney (Wyatt Hotel); Raquel Dias Azeveda (Westport Coast Hotel); Dimitar Pandelski (Westport Plaza Hotel); Bridie Morley (Knock House Hotel); Shannon Forry (Hotel Westport (The Grace) at Westport Estate); absent from the image: Cristina Virlanuta (Lodge at Ashford Castle).