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THE GLENEAGLE ***New Series***

The Gleneagle Image Name: The Gleneagle
The Gleneagle Image Name: The Gleneagle
The Gleneagle Image Name: The Gleneagle
The Gleneagle Image Name: The Gleneagle
The Gleneagle Image Name: The Gleneagle
The Gleneagle Image Name: The Gleneagle
The Gleneagle Image Name: The Gleneagle

THE GLENEAGLE

Series Overview

RTÉ One’s new fly-on-the-wall series goes behind the scenes of one of Ireland’s leading entertainment venues – The Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney.  The series is produced by Waddell Media and follows on from their success last year about the five-star Shelbourne Hotel. The three-star Gleneagle is very different, but what it lacks in stars it makes up for in enthusiasm and chutzpah.

“Nobody has to dress for dinner in the Gleneagle and they don’t have to mind their Ps and Qs.  Most guests don’t even know what star rating we have.  They come here to kick up their heels and have a good time.” Patrick O’Donoghue,  Owner, Gleneagle Hotel

Since its modest beginning in 1957 as a fourteen bedroom hotel, the Gleneagle has grown and diversified. It now has 240 bedrooms, 50 apartments, a leisure centre, 5 bars and a state-of-the-art theatre venue, the INEC – Ireland’s National Events Centre. From ballet to bingo, country to comedy and snooker to sean nós there’s always something happening in the hotel.  It’s like a cruise ship on land – a party that never sleeps.

EPISODE 1 of 6 

The Gleneagle   Episode one  – July 19th, 2015

This week the hotel welcomes a group of golden oldies who have come to the famous Gleneagle ballroom to kick up their heels in a marathon of old time dancing.  For the 30th year in a row, they’re here to reunite and dance with old friends for a ‘Lisdoonvarna Reunion,’ although it soon becomes clear that some people are still hoping for a bit of romance!  In the INEC young, up-and-coming band Walking On Cars entertain 3,000 fans in the biggest headline gig of their career.

We also meet house-keeping sisters Ita and Noreen Lyne who are one of many local families employed in the hotel. The Gleneagle is one of few remaining family owned and run hotels in the country.  Current owner and managing director, Patrick O’ Donoghue is the 3rd generation of O’Donghues to keep the business going since his grandparents first opened the doors back in 1957.   Many of the staff have worked here all their lives and some like receptionist Ann McCann, have fond memories of Patrick’s Grandmother ‘Mrs. O’ who still worked in reception well into her nineties.  She had a reputation for keeping everything ship shape – including the staff.

“On a Sunday morning, even on a really busy check out, Mrs. O would take over the front desk and insist that all us girls went into mass”. – Ann McCann, Receptionist and front office manager

Throughout the weekend of the Lisdoonvarna reunion there are over 1,000 people dancing on the ballroom floor at any one time. Three ladies even travelled from New Jersey USA looking for men who know how to dance.  Many are here to meet old friends but it soon becomes clear that some are here for more than a dance.  Albert and Cecily Lawlor have been organising this reunion for 30 years.

“Its access to social life for anyone from 45 and up, with some people well into their 70s and 80s still hoping to meet someone.  They’re willing to give it a try.   I’m sure there are some young people out there who’ll say ‘ for the love of God they should be dead or in a home’, but you’re never too old for love.” – Cecily Lawlor

One of the most popular men on the dance floor this weekend is local man Joe Burke. Joe worked in the hotel as a waiter for 15 years and it was during that time that he taught himself to dance. Today Joe is in such demand with the ladies that he has to keep a very strict dance list.

‘I’ve been told I float when I’m dancing. It’s a gift I have. Some of the women are very disappointed when I tell them I’m all booked up.  But I’ll put them on my list, although at this stage they’ll be 96th on tonight’s list!’ – Joe Burke

 

HISTORY OF GLENEAGLE

The Gleneagle opened as a small country-house hotel in 1957. It was originally an eight bedroom Georgian building built in the 1830s as a private home. Paddy and Sheila O’Donoghue bought it in 1957 for £5000. They raised seven children there but also saw it’s commercial potential. Paddy combined the name of his own home place Glenflesk with the fact that Muckross had been a rare breeding ground for eagles and on October 11th 1957 The Gleneagle became a licensed hotel. In 1959 they built a dance hall next to the hotel and their son Maurice who was studying Pharmacy in Dublin drove home three to four nights a week to run dances there. He didn’t pursue his career as a pharmacist but in hospitality and entertainment. Together with his wife Margaret , Maurice set about developing The Gleneagle into an all-inclusive holiday destination.  Cabaret was introduced to the hotel in 1965, and by 1969 it was on five nights a week throughout the summer. Stars such as Joe Dolan, Dermot O’Brien, Johnny McEvoy, Joe Cuddy and The Furey Brothers played to audiences of 500 people a night.  In the 1980s the hotel hosted acts like The Wolfe Tones, Brendan Grace, Christy Moore, Brendan Shine, Dickie Rock, Louise Morrissey, and Killarney’s own, The Swinging Jarveys played frequently at the hotel.

Maurice was a risk taker and entrepreneur and went on to realise his dream of building a larger venue and in 2000 he opened Ireland’s National Events Centre (INEC). High profile national and international acts, such as Cliff Richard, Blondie, Morrissey, and more recently Hozier, came to Killarney to perform for the very first time. Today, The INEC hosts a wide range of events all year-round including political conferences, The World Irish Dancing Championships and the World indoor Tug of War Championships.

The hotel also plays a big part in the local community and has been involved in all sorts of sponsorships from The Gleneagle Concert Band to Killarney Summerfest.  It is now run by the third generation of O’Donoghues; Maurice and Margaret’s son Patrick and his wife Eileen.

 

10 things you didn’t know about The Gleneagle…

Three generations of one family have run The Gleneagle Hotel.

It originally opened with just fourteen bedrooms.

Front Office Manager Ann McCann follows in the footsteps of both her mother and her grandmother who also both worked in The Gleneagle Hotel.

There are twenty-two nationalities working in the hotel. The following countries are represented: Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, Poland, Slovakia, Ivory Coast, Mongolia, England, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain, Portugal, Ukrainian, South Africa, America, Hungary, Bulgaria, France and The Philippines.

The Gleneagle Laundry washes over a half a million pillow cases and one million towels every year.

Over 30,000 loaves of bread are consumed in The Gleneagle every year.

Just under 55 tons of potatoes are consumed in The Gleneagle Hotel every year.

Nine married couples work together at The Gleneagle Hotel.

The longest serving member of The Gleneagle Team was founder Sheila O’Donoghue who worked at reception until her retirement at age 96.

The Gleneagle has operated its own shuttle bus since 1961.