Major boost for Killarney as former factory to be transformed into college for hospitality

Major boost for Killarney as former factory to be transformed into college for hospitality

Simon Harris, the Minister for Further Education, will announce that the 25,000 sq ft former Pretty Polly factory is to be repurposed as a third level institution for training for the hotel and hospitality sector.

Killarney is set to get its first third level college, focusing on the hospitality sector.

In a huge boost for the town, an announcement to revamp a long vacant for educational purposes is due to be made today.

Simon Harris, the Minister for Further Education, will announce that the 25,000 sq ft former Pretty Polly factory is to be repurposed as a third level institution for training for the hotel and hospitality sector, under the auspices of the Kerry Education and Training Board (ETB).

The factory has been vacant since 2009 and served as a Pretty Polly clothing site, as well as Sara Lee and Beocare medical products centre. 

It occupies over seven acres on the eastern edge of Killarney.

When vacated, it was handed over to the town council to be developed for the benefit of the commercial life of the town.

A number of attempts by the former town council and more recently the Killarney municipal district council were not successful.

Expressions of interest were invited in 2019 for a use of the building and a number of proposals were received.

However, two tenders for commercial uses were withdrawn because of the economic uncertainty surrounding Covid-19.

Part of the sprawling site is earmarked for social housing by Kerry County Council.

Repurposed building

The large building is now to be repurposed as a third level catering and hotel college and apprenticeship training centre, Mr Harris will announce.

The centre, which will come under the auspices of the Kerry ETB, is to serve Killarney and South Kerry.

“The proposal is to repurpose the site to use the buildings already there and transform it into a state-of-the-art campus,” according to a source.

There have long been calls for a third level facility for Killarney with a focus on training for the hotel and hospitality sector, the town’s biggest industry, which has been hit with a crisis in staff recruitment.

Meetings between Mr Harris, local Fine Gael TD Brendan Griffin, the Kerry ETB, and the hospitality sector took place earlier this year.

The new campus will also include renewable energy, sustainable green technologies, and lifelong learning along with craft apprenticeships.

The plans which will be announced in detail at the Kerry College Admission offices in High Street for what will be known as Killarney Campus are to deliver training to over 3,000 people in the first year, with numbers to rise to over 3,600 in year three.

Plans are also being announced for a new building at the Munster Technological University in Tralee. The building on the Tralee North Campus will serve up to 3,000 students.

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