Shock at Ballinrobe hotel closure

Shock at Ballinrobe hotel closure


Edwin McGreal

There was widespread shock and disappointment in Ballinrobe yesterday evening (Monday) as news broke of the closure of JJ Gannon’s Hotel, Bar and Restaurant on Main Street in the town.
Approximately 12 staff were employed at the hotel and they were told of the decision to close yesterday morning by devastated proprietors Jay and Nicki Gannon.
The hotel was owned and managed by three generations of the Gannon family and was renovated in 2004 and was recommended by The Michelin eating out in pubs guide for 2009, 2010 and 2011.
It was Ballinrobe’s busiest hotel. Two other hotels, the Valkenburg and the Railway Hotel, continue to trade in the town.
Local businesspeople expressed their sadness at news of the closure yesterday while Mayo County Councillor and Ballinrobe man Cllr Michael Burke expressed his wish that the hotel might reopen.
“It is awful disappointing to see and I hope it can open again as quickly as possible. It has brought a great service to the town of Ballinrobe and Gannon’s certainly will be missed,” Cllr Burke told The Mayo News.