Working for Christmas: Growing trend in eating out on Christmas Day

Over the last number of years, heading out for Christmas dinner has become more and more popular. It’s a trend Martin Gallagher, who has been in the hotel business for the last 42 years, knows only too well.

Born in Sligo, Martin spent some time working in the UK before returning to Ireland for jobs in Wicklow and Kilkenny.

“I’ve been operations manager at Mount Juliet for the last nine months and I was at the Rivercourt Hotel for 14 years before that,” he said.

“We’re fully booked out for Christmas Day — we’ve 150 for lunch and 150 on a waiting list and we’ve over 100 people staying with us for a three-day package. Christmas Eve they will have dinner in the Manor House and then they’ll come and have Christmas lunch in Hunter’s Yard and then they go back and have a buffet on Christmas night in the manor.”

If they had a larger restaurant they would still be booked out, he said, something which the hotel realises and is acting on — next year will see a raft of developments at Mount Juliet including extra bedrooms, additional function rooms, and more restaurant space.

“People prefer to go out on Christmas Day now rather than cook at home. It’s growing more and more popular.”

Despite the long hours involved in running a hotel’s daily operations, Martin said this Christmas will be the first one he has worked in 18 years.

“I was spoiled when I came to Kilkenny because the Rivercourt used to be closed for nine days over Christmas. Now it’s only closed for two days. So that trend of closing for Christmas is changing, especially for hotels,” he said.

“I have a 10-year-old daughter and she’s asking will I be there on Christmas morning which I will be, before I go to work, to see her open her gifts. I’ll be there again in the evening at around 6pm or 7pm and we’ll do dinner then. And I’m hoping to be off the 26th and 27th.”