McWilliam Park Hotel enters examinership

Michael Commins

THE McWilliam Park Hotel in Claremorris will continue to trade as normal in the wake of the announcement that the company had entered examinership to secure future of the hotel and employment. The difficulties are being attributed to ‘the burden of significant pre-downturn debt’.
Breaking news on the course of events came as a major shock to many throughout the region last week. The McWilliam Park is among the leading hotels in the province when it comes to ‘foot-fall’.
It has become especially synonymous with country music promotions as is often promoted as the ‘Nashville of the West’ in this regard. People from all parts of the island of Ireland attend the weekend dances at the hotel.
Claremorris Tourism Limited (CTL), the trading company for McWilliam Park Hotel, successfully applied for the appointment of an Examiner in the High Court on November 10, 2015. Kieran Wallace of KPMG has been appointed Interim Examiner.
The directors of CTL applied for the appointment of an Examiner due to ‘the unsustainable level of debt being carried by the company’.
“The hotel has traded well during the downturn despite the challenging environment but it has the burden of significant pre-downturn debt.  The directors believe that the protection inherent in examinership will enable it to secure the future of the business and of the employment of the people working in the business.

Important employer
“The McWilliam Park Hotel is an important employer in Claremorris and it also contributes to the local economy including pubs, shops and bed and breakfast operators,” said Damian Prendergast, Managing Director of McWilliam Park Hotel.
“Our goal is to put the business on a long term sustainable footing, securing jobs and building on what has already been achieved. Meanwhile it is business as usual, in every respect. The hotel enjoys the support of the people of Claremorris, the people of Co Mayo and of guests from all over Ireland, for which we are most grateful.” 
The McWilliam Park Hotel opened in 2006. It is a 103 bedroom, four star hotel employing 40 full-time and up to 80 part- time employees. The hotel has a range of well-invested facilities including a large conference and events facility, meeting rooms, a leisure centre, bar and restaurant.  It has developed a national reputation as a country music destination and stages many of Ireland’s top acts throughout the year.
The McWilliam Park will continue to operate as usual during the period of examinership. All weddings, functions and concerts will go ahead as planned, all bookings will be honoured in full, all services will continue to operate as before and all gift vouchers can be redeemed as normal.