New Paddy Doherty projects will increase his hospitality investment to €13m
It includes his latest acquisition, McGrory's Hotel, in his native Inishowen for around €1m. That hotel has 17 bedrooms and, with a further two houses in nearby Malin Head, he plans to cater for 60 high-end tourists per night in Inishowen.
The Irish Times reported that his Doherty Hospitality Group has agreed a deal to purchase the Queens in Dalkey for about €3.4m. Queens comes with planning permission for a 30-bedroom guesthouse. It follows his purchase last year of The Greedy Eagle gastro pub in nearby Glasthule village for around €4m from the Loyola Group.
Doherty founded Electro Automation Group which provides tolling services at Dublin Port Tunnel and is best known for its 'easy trip' road-tolling services. It also owns automation businesses in the UK and Germany.
Joint agents BDM Property and TDL Horizons handled the sale of McGrory's Hotel in Culdaff, Co Donegal, not far from Doherty's home town of Carndonagh.
Although Culdaff has a population of just 200 people, it is popular with holiday makers because of its blue flag beach. Being on the north-eastern side of the peninsula, it is relatively sheltered from the wildest aspects of the Atlantic. The picturesque plantation village is built on an ancient monastic site. It is 45 minutes from Derry city and a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Dublin Airport.
Niamh Walsh of TDL describes McGrory's as being quintessentially Donegal. A native of the county herself, she says 'once you walk in there you known you are in Donegal'.
The hotel comprises 17 guest bedrooms, bar, restaurant and the Backroom, which is renowned as a live-music venue. In early 2024, the hotel underwent an extensive refurbishment programme, including room upgrades and the installation of new catering kitchen and bar equipment. The deal also included a car park across the road from the hotel.
A family-owned establishment for over four generations, in 2024 it celebrated its centenary year. Inishowen is Ireland's largest peninsula with a 100-mile coastline and is renowned for its dramatic landscapes. Culdaff is a short drive from Ireland's most northerly point at Malin Head.
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Irish Times
2 days ago
- Irish Times
Mixed messages on State pension entitlement from two offices in same Government department
I have 356 'reckonable paid contributions ' for State pension purposes, made up of 204 S and 148 A1 contributions, as confirmed by the records section of the Department of Social Protection in Buncrana, Co Donegal. In addition, I have been registered as a homemaker for a period of five years leading up to July 2019 by the Homemakers Section, also based in Buncrana. In July 2024, I was presented with the opportunity of purchasing voluntary contributions for the four years 2019–22 inclusive and again, recently, in respect of the year 2024 by the Client Eligibility Services Section of the Department of Social Protection in Waterford, with a 12-month limit for payment. I am finding it difficult to establish whether I have sufficient contributions paid to qualify for the lowest level of State pension once I take up the offer of purchasing the five added years. READ MORE Finally, I should point out that I have approximately seven years to run before I reach my 66th birthday. Ms MT The problem when you are dealing with Government departments, as you have discovered, is getting a clear answer in plain English. I'm not suggesting there are not challenges involved. These matters are governed by legislation where language is both very precise and, unfortunately, arcane but the whole point of having customer-facing staff in these departments is that they are able to interpret sometimes complex rules to provide simple answers that are clear and can be easily understood. Your problem here, as I understand it, is that you have been given two entirely contradictory messages from two separate offices within the same Government department. The client eligibility service section of the Department of Social Protection has, you say, offered you the chance to purchase voluntary PRSI contributions covering the four years from 2019 to 2022 as long as you make the payment by next month – July 2025. It subsequently came back to you to offer the option of buying voluntary contributions for 2024. I can see no way that you would be eligible to buy any of the years offered – at least on the basis of the advice I have been given by the Department Just one of the many oddities in your situation is that they seem to have ignored 2023 altogether. On the other hand, the Department separately says that you cannot purchase voluntary social insurance contributions at all. Under the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2012, anyone looking to purchase voluntary PRSI since April 6th, 2015 – 10 years ago – must have at least 520 paid contributions. As you note yourself, you have just 356 stamps. Some of those are Class S, which covers self-employment and the rest are Class A, the most common PAYE class of PRSI. Both classes count towards the State pension so you are all right there, but you are 164 weekly contributions short of the minimum for buying voluntary PRSI – three years shy, in fact. There are other issues. You must apply within 60 months (five years) of the end of the last year in which you made either paid contributions or are covered by Home Making relief. That means if you are applying now for 2019, you would be declined as it is over five years ago. Five years from the end of 2019 would have taken you up to the end of 2024, not July 2025. And given the five-year deadline and the fact that you have no contributions for 2020 one way or the other, I can see no way that you would be eligible to buy any of the years offered – at least on the basis of the advice I have been given by the Department. Just to further muddy the waters, the Department tells me that 'in very exceptional circumstances, this period may be extended at the discretion of the Minister'. However, as you are three years shy of the basic 520-stamp threshold, I would not entertain much hope on that front. I would suggest you enquire about appeal processes and use those processes to the full I had wondered whether the more recent Home Caring relief – which actually credits you with PRSI stamps for time out of the workforce caring for family – might be more useful to you as it would get you to the 520-stamp limit than Home Makers, which simply discounts those years of caring from your PRSI record without actually crediting you with stamps. However, the Department assures me Home Caring cannot be used to meet the 520-stamp threshold that would allow you to purchase voluntary PRSI. I also enquired what would happen if you did in good faith take the client eligibility service section up on its offer of buying the PRSI cover even though, technically, you are not entitled. Would they honour it, I asked? And if not, when would you get the money you had paid in good faith back? 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If you were to work just over three of those years, you would hit the magic 520 threshold at which you would qualify for a minimum pension – in your case 25 per cent of the full rate. On the basis of today's weekly payment of €289.30, that would mean a weekly payment of €72.33. Of course, you could work the whole seven years in which case you would get closer to €100 a week. You must apply within 60 months (five years) of the end of the last year in which you made either paid contributions or are covered by Home Making relief I know from talking to you that you are totally confused and frustrated at this point over the inability to get a simple straightforward yes or no answer from the Department. While, understandably, they are not prepared to discuss individual cases with me – and I would not in any case be able to give them your details without your express permission – they do tell me that they are happy to look into this matter for you. I have now passed a number on to you which, hopefully, will put the issue to rest once and for all. Given the hopeless confusion that has reigned here, whatever happens I would suggest you enquire about appeal processes and use those processes to the full, outlining the catalogue of mixed messages you have received over the past year. It may get you nowhere, but at least that is no worse than where you now stand. Please send your queries to Dominic Coyle, Q&A, The Irish Times, 24-28 Tara Street Dublin 2, or by email to with a contact phone number. This column is a reader service and is not intended to replace professional advice
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Irish Times
Creeslough: Planning permission refused for petrol station site of explosion in which 10 people died
An Coimisiún Pleanála has overturned a grant of planning permission for a new filling station on the site of the explosion in Creeslough , Co Donegal, in which 10 people died. Donegal County Council granted permission in February to Vivo Shell Limited to redevelop a service station and shop at the site. The decision was appealed by a number of family members of those killed in the October 2022 blast. An Coimisiún Pleanála on Friday turned down the application. READ MORE The planning authority said the proposed plan was 'out of character' with its surroundings in the village. The body said 'Having regard to the existing character and the prevailing pattern of development in Creeslough, it is considered that the proposed development (as amended), by reason of its overall architectural treatment, scale and design, would be out of character with its surroundings, would seriously detract from the architectural character and setting of Creeslough and the streetscape and approach from Letterkenny generally.' The authority said the proposed development would be contrary to the County Development Plan. 'To permit the proposed scheme (as amended) at this prominent location could have such a negative effect on the visual amenity and local character of Creeslough as to negatively impact on the wider, long-term regeneration and renewal of the village. [ Creeslough: 'I can't get my head around how a site can be built on when there's a criminal investigation' Opens in new window ] 'The proposed development would, therefore, seriously injure the visual amenities of the area and the proper planning and sustainable development of the area.' The proposed rebuild had allowed for the demolition of the existing building and the construction of a new structure that includes a shop, post office, deli, off-licence, and fuel forecourt. A memorial garden and light-based sculpture with 10 metal poles commemorating those who perished in the tragedy was also planned for the site. Many of the families who lost loved ones in the tragedy, however, said this was an insult to their memory considering they died in the metal and rubble of the blast. One bereaved family member said: 'This is terrific news. When we got the news yesterday that there would not be an oral hearing we were so disappointed and feared the worst. 'We simply do not want a new service station on the site in which our loved ones died.'
Irish Times
19-06-2025
- Irish Times
The Rusty Mackerel, Donegal review: Sarah Jessica Parker's go-to is where you want to be after a bracing cliff walk
The Rusty Mackerel Address : Teelin, Carrick, Co Donegal, F94VP99 Telephone : 074-9739101 Cuisine : Pub Grub Website : Cost : €€€ We've come from the cliffs at Sliabh Liag – 600m above sea level, the highest sea cliffs in Europe – where the land just gives up and drops off the side of the country. The view across Donegal Bay is staggering. It's better than the Cliffs of Moher . Fewer buses. Smaller crowds. The kind of place that makes you forget about food entirely – until you get back into the car, the road curves inland, and suddenly you're starving. The Rusty Mackerel, nearby in Teelin, is the place to stop. With a terrace out front, a conservatory to one side and rooms upstairs, it is a favourite of tourists and hikers. A warren of rooms in the pub is filled with pints and talk. In the conservatory, where our food is served, the brick walls, timber beams and stone flag floors create an inviting ambience. Guinness and whiskey mirrors, framed adverts and copper pots anchor you firmly in Ireland. The menu is short: seven starters, seven mains and five desserts. There's fish and chips, a Guinness beef stew, pasta with chicken in a white wine cream sauce and a seafood pie with smoked haddock and salmon. Starters include a creamy seafood chowder, crispy chicken wings and garlic bread with or without cheese. Desserts stick to the classics: sticky toffee pudding, crème brûlée, brownies, and spiced apple crumble – all priced at €9. The wine list is equally short, with four whites, three reds, a rosé, and a Prosecco, all available by the glass. It should be noted that the rosé is Sarah Jessica Parker 's – she drops in when she's holidaying in Donegal. I go for the Chardonnay (€7.70); my wingman, Steve, has a Guinness (€5.90). READ MORE We order the goat's cheese tartlet (€14) and the prawn and monkfish (€14.50) to start. It's a single slice from a log of soft goat's cheese in a small prebaked pastry case, which is warmed through. It is topped with red onion marmalade, which adds sweetness - perhaps a bit too much - and underneath is a green wild garlic purée – strong, sharp and slightly overpowering. The prawn and monkfish is served in an escargot dish – the white ceramic kind with six wells, originally designed to hold snails and garlic butter. It's an odd vessel, but it works. The monkfish is perfectly cooked – no small achievement. It's an unforgiving fish when overdone. The prawns hold their texture in a mild creamy sauce. The layer of melted mozzarella across the top has a wonderful cheese pull and is strangely satisfying. The brown bread that comes with it is very good – deep brown, dense, slightly sweet, served thick and warm with butter. We've ordered two mains: fish and chips (€22.50) and the Guinness stew (€22.50). The fish and chips is excellent. The fish – haddock – comes in a Guinness beer batter, fried to a perfect crunch. The batter is thin and crisp, not oily, and flakes apart with a good crack. Inside, the fish is hot, juicy, and firm. This is how it's meant to be done – the batter acts as a casing, holding in the heat and the moisture, without turning to glue. The hand-cut chips are thick, not quite crunchy, but piping hot. A small bowl of mushy peas and a ramekin of tartare sauce do the job. The stew comes in a deep bowl, loaded with tender beef, peas, carrots and a generous dollop of buttery mash. But the gravy lacks depth. There's sweetness where there should be something savoury – no bitterness, no dark malt character, nothing that suggests stout. It could do with a splash of lemon juice to add acidity. There's more of that excellent brown bread on the side. The Rusty Mackerel, Carrick, Co Donegal The Rusty Mackerel, Carrick, Co Donegal The Rusty Mackerel Pub, Carrick, Co Donegal We share a dessert – sticky toffee pudding (€9). The sponge is warm and soft, but not especially sticky. The toffee sauce, poured on top and squiggled across the plate, tastes confected, like something from a bottle. It comes with soft-serve ice cream and a strawberry on top. The Rusty Mackerel is open most days – including midweek – which already puts it ahead of much of rural Donegal. Many places shut from Monday to Wednesday, or hibernate until high season. This one stays open year-round. That, along with the fish, is reason enough to stop. After the cliffs and the road and the cold air in your lungs, it's not just somewhere to eat – it's exactly where you want to be. Dinner for two with a glass of wine and a beer was €96.10. The verdict: A post-hike menu that gets the basics right. Food provenance: Molloys Fish, Killybegs; Adrian Byrne Butchers; and Declan McShane for fruit and vegetables. Vegetarian options: Goat's cheese tartlet and vegetable curry. Wheelchair access: Fully accessible with an accessible toilet. Music: Country sounds such as Riley Green and Chris Stapleton.
