Billionaire O’Brien reopens iconic castle hotel

Hot on the heels of his takeover of Dublin’s Beacon Private Hospital, billionaire Denis O’Brien has reopened the historic Ballynahinch Castle in Connemara.

The four-star hotel was taken over by Mr O’Brien and his wife, Catherine last year and a major revamp has just been completed.

The legendary Grace O’Malley, or Gráinne Mhaol, married into the Ballynahinch estate through her union with Donal O’Flaherty of the dominant O’Flaherty clan in 1546.

The castle itself was built in the 18th century for the Martin family, where Richard Martin earned the name ‘Humanity Dick’ as a result of founding the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

It was sold to London brewer, Richard Berridge, in 1872 and acquired in the 1920s by the Maharaja Jam Sahib of Nawanagar, India — known as Ranji, the Prince of Cricketers.

Ballynahinch Castle was transformed into a hotel in 1946 and acquired in the late 70s by US businessman, Raymond Mason and his wife, Minerva.

The couple spent millions on the property, but now, well into their 80s, they have chosen to forego the demanding trips across the Atlantic.

It is believed they offered the O’Briens the chance to buy the property last year. It is not known how much they paid, but Ballynahinch Castle Inc, the firm behind Ballynahinch Castle hotel and grounds, made a pretax profit of €58,800 in 2012, an improvement on the €170,078 loss it recorded the previous year.

Turnover for Ballynahinch Castle Inc was €3.37m, up from €3.10m in 2011. The profit was used to reduce accumulated losses, which were €1m at year’s end.