€6m expansion of Limerick hotel to create 150 jobs

A €6 million expansion of the four-star Castletroy Park Hotel in Limerick will increase the number of rooms and suites to nearly 160 and add a state of the art fitness and leisure facility and facilities for corporates.

The hotel, which caters for the Munster rugby team based at the nearby University of Limerick (UL), was bought six years ago by Galway businessman Pat McDonagh.

Mr McDonagh said: “The Limerick region is now a business hot spot and the physical infrastructure abound the city is changing dramatically. There is a significant motorway network feeding the into the city plus the international airport at Shannon [is] on our doorstep.”

The hotel was originally founded by US businessman Chuck Feeney who has been the single biggest financial contributor to the development of UL.

The development of the hotel expansion will create 110 building jobs over 18 months and the new facility will provide work for 40 permanent staff.

Mr McDonagh said as a location for business, few places in the country come near Limerick in terms of what it offers the corporate, leisure and sports tourism industry.

“This investment is a vote of confidence in Limerick and I have been hugely impressed with the success of the city in attracting national and international business investment as well as the progressive steps which are being taken to address lifestyle, amenity and urban development,” said Mr McDonagh.

“In particular I see Limerick becoming the capital of education in Ireland. Over the past 40 years, UL has grown from having 100 students to becoming one of the biggest and most enterprising universities in the country. The recent appointment of Professor Des Fitzgerald as UL president is testimony to the ability of the institution to attract the brightest and the best to Limerick.”

He said Limerick City and County Council would help lead Limerick to compete with cities worldwide.

Mr McDonagh said: “This investment in the Castletroy Park Hotel is focused on guaranteeing the hotel’s pole position into the future, complementing the high standard of development and expectations of the city.”

Finance Minister Michael Noonan who attended the announcement said it represented a very significant investment.

“These are the state of the art facilities that a city like Limerick now requires. Pat McDonagh has put his confidence in Limerick and I hope Limerick puts it’s confidence in him as well,” said Mr Noonan.