Help on hand as Brennan brothers roll in to offer expertise

The napkins will be folded meticulously and the toilet roll will definitely be hanging the “right way round” in Coachford later this month.

Flamboyant hotelier and TV personality Francis Brennan and his brother John will be in town to film an episode of At Your Service.

The stars of the RTÉ show have been offering advice to the owners of Breathnach’s Bar and Gala shop in Coachford, Co Cork. And now they’re due back to film the launch of the new and improved enterprise.

The programme, in which hoteliers John and Francis give astute advice and assistance to businesses, has been tracking the owners’ plans for the bar and supermarket to boost business.

For owner Mary Cronin, the process began in late January when her mother saw an advertisement in the newspaper.

Filming for the show began in late March when the Brennan brothers and their film crew came to Coachford to see Breathnach’s Bar and supermarket.

“Our initial thought was that we would use rooms to make a B&B upstairs as it was a hotel long ago. We had rooms which hadn’t been touched since the 1940s and a third floor on the building which wasn’t used at all. So that is what our thoughts were,” Mary explains.

“Why I got involved really was to see if we could enhance our business because business has gone bad,” she added.

The Brennans are heading to Coachford on Monday, Aug 26, for the launch party for the new-look business.

“All that’s left to finish is painting the frontage of the building. Then the Brennans will come back and see the progress and I’ll get my telling off on whatever I have done and whatever I haven’t done,” Mary declared.

Local musicians and friends of Mary’s will perform céilí music and there will be a barbecue and children’s activities in the hopes of showing off what the area has to offer.

Fans of the show will have to wait until January to find out if Mary’s plans and revamp efforts met with approval from the Brennan brothers.