Loss of Quality hits quantity for Youghal as it faces tourism accommodation shortfall
The Captain Ahab statue overlooks the Tourist Office and Visitor Centre with the Old Clock Tower on an empty street in Youghal recently. Picture: Howard Crowdy
As the sun beamed down on Youghal in recent days, it failed to hide the air of gloom hanging over a town that faces into a summer without tourist accommodation in two of its three hotels.
News of the conversion of the Quality Hotel at Red Barn to a care centre for Ukrainian refugees emerged locally over a week ago, shortly after the Old Imperial Hotel in the town centre also switched to accommodating Ukrainian refugees for at least a number of months. That facility has 18 bedrooms, while the Quality Hotel has 48 apartments, as well as 25 hotel rooms of varying sizes.
The town’s third hotel, the Walter Raleigh, remains open. There are also guesthouses, bed and breakfast establishments, and a small number of airbnb opportunities — with the local lighthouse costing €400 for an overnight stay.
However, Padraig Hennessy, owner of Clancy’s pub on the seafront and vice chairman of Youghal Chamber of Tourism and Development, says that up to 1,000 customers a week will now be lost to the town because of the recent move away from hotel accommodation, particularly at the Quality Hotel.
“There are a lot of people who are upset about it. We were told that Youghal was a tourist town and that is what we are and that is what we should be and that is what we have been trying to do — with the boardwalk, the greenway and what we have to offer in the main town itself," he said.
“The biggest hit to the town apart from the loss of the Quality Hotel itself are the holiday homes it has. We get customers from the Quality right through the year – in October, November. That is the biggest hit. The Quality would bring 1,000 customers into Youghal a week. Outside of hospitality, you are talking about the local butcher shop, supermarkets, the petrol stations and so on. That is a lot.”
Youghal Business Alliance chairman Ger Flanagan said it is important to stress that there is a “wholehearted welcome” in the area for those fleeing Ukraine.
But he added: “We had three hotels but we have lost two now.”
He added that the opening of the boardwalk between Red Barn and the town of Youghal has been a big boost for tourism in the area, while the development of the local greenway is also seen as another major boon for the future of Youghal as a tourist destination.
In recent decades, Youghal was hit with closures of industry, bringing dark days for the town which has a rich heritage going back to the arrival of Sir Walter Raleigh in the late 1500s, when he planted Ireland’s first potatoes in the area.
The three-year contract for endurance event Ironman to take place in Youghal up to 2024 was a big coup for the area. This year’s event takes place from August 12 to 14.
However, Mr Flanagan pointed out that accommodation for this year’s Ironman has been hit by the closure of accommodation at the Quality – although, he said, locals have come forward to offer up rooms in their homes for those attending the event.
Those spearheading Ironman in Youghal, John and Laura Innes, said that 400 people had to be re-accommodated after they were informed of the Quality Hotel’s lack of availability for the event. They included athletes, Ironman staff and contractors.
Mr Innes said:
Ms Innes said people are being accommodated in Youghal, other parts of east Cork, west Waterford and Cork city.
Locals are concerned that the Quality Hotel could end up being used for accommodation for refugees on a longer-term basis.
But few are prepared to talk on the record about their concerns because they fear they will be branded as racist as a result.
One person said: “We are now coming into the tourist season in Youghal and apart from Ironman, which will be a week in August, there will be a huge fall out for the summer season.”
He added that businesses relying on tourism for their turnover will be affected long after the summer months.
Another questioned why closed hotels in other towns including Lismore and Fermoy were not chosen instead.
The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is currently contracting temporary hotel accommodation across the country to respond to the accommodation needs of the thousands of Ukrainians arriving in Ireland to flee the conflict.
In a statement to the a spokesman said the list of hotels being contracted is likely to change quickly depending of arrivals from Ukraine arriving into the country on a daily basis.
He added:
The head of operations at the Quality Hotel, Paul Walsh, told the in recent days that pre-booked functions and accommodation have been cancelled and that no further holiday bookings are currently being taken.
Just over six weeks ago, on March 16, a blogpost on the website of the Quality Hotel heralded the reopening of the hotel after “a very long absence” due to Covid.
The blog noted that the hotel had opened and closed on one day in March 2020, after having closed for the winter following Halloween 2019.
The blog quoted then proprietor Allen McEnery saying: “We were fortunate to have our self-catering accommodation available for the past two summer seasons and that helped us to stay afloat. People felt safer having their own front door, rather than staying in a hotel — and the wide-open spaces of Redbarn Beach were ideal for a protected family break. However, folk missed the fun, the foodservice, and the social interaction of the hotel amenities. We are just so happy to be up and running again!”
The post referenced the challenges of the pandemic on the hospitality sector. And it concluded: “Sadly, along with all tourism businesses, it now faces further struggles due to soaring prices caused by the war in Ukraine.
And while the hotel complex will now be a care centre for those people, the locals of Youghal are hoping that the move does not bring the town’s economy its own hours of darkness.
