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23 Oct 2025
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23 Oct 2025
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The Misunderstood Heron was a popular place among Mayo people
After eight years in business, the Misunderstood Heron was forced to shut down last week.
Food enthusiasts in Mayo have expressed sadness at the closing of a popular food place for day trips.
Galway County Council has now defended its decision to issue a closure notice to the Misunderstood Heron food truck as they say they were 'left with no choice'.
In a post shared on social media last week, the Leenane-based food truck announced their last weekend of trading would take place on Saturday, April 26, having been ‘shut down’ by planners at Galway County Council, with the loss of eight jobs.
READ: Aidan O'Shea - Mayo's man for all seasons
Since the announcement, an outpouring of messages in support of the award-winning café have followed in response. Over 1,000 comments have been left on the initial post. Despite the enforced closure, the Misunderstood Heron say that they will persist with other ventures, such as catering and pop-ups, saying that more information will be revealed next week.
Operated by husband-and-wife Kim Young and Reinaldo Seco since 2017, the café had become a staple of journeys to Connemara for its blend of Chilean and Irish cuisine but in a shock announcement last week, it promptly shut following the close of business on Sunday, April 27.
During a Galway County Council meeting on Monday, April 28, Chief Executive Liam Conneally said that there had never been any planning applications made by the Misunderstood Heron to develop and operate in the Leenane area.
In recent weeks, the council were contacted by a member of the public regarding ‘unauthorised activity and development’ on the site which prompted them to take action. Mr Conneally said: “The first proposal for Killary Leisure Centre was in 1997. Since a total of 28 planning applications have been made for this area. None of them had ever been made by the Misunderstood Heron and it was on that basis, on the basis of a complaint made by a member of the public, we had no option but to continue on with the planning proposal process.”
READ: 'Heartbreak' - Mayo people react after popular eatery is forced to close
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