Meet the Kenmare family who bought their hotel back from John and Francis Brennan

Patrick and Aileen Hanley tell Gemma Fullam how they brought Kenmare’s landmark Lansdowne hotel back to the family – and how two years on, they are still making it their own

Kenmare native Patrick Hanley returns home with his wife Aileen Hanley to take the reins of The Lansdowne Kenmare Hotel – 24 years after his parents sold the business. Photo By: Domnick Walsh

“Patrick and I very much believe in serendipity,” says hotelier Aileen Hanley, and well, the Kenmare-based duo might. The stars began to align for the entrepreneurial couple back in May of 2023, manifesting an opportunity they had long dreamed about.

“People started sending us messages,” recalls Aileen as she cites one particular text “from the horse’s mouth” that gave veracity to the chatter they’d been hearing about The Lansdowne.