Famed Lisdoonvarna hospitality venue seeks match with a new owner
Selling agent Tom Barrett of Savills is quoting €4.75m for the three-star venue which accommodates 113 bedrooms as well as a large function room for music and events and additional nightclub space. It is located on 1.8 acres which includes on-site parking, tennis courts and a lawn.
The Hydro traces its history back to the 19th century when Lisdoonvarna was popular with the Irish farming community as they celebrated their harvest and sought to meet potential partners. This later became known as the match-making festival.
Their choice of venue was due to the reputed healing powers of the natural sulphur springs which gave the then remote Clare village its name. At a time when there were very few spas in Ireland, visitors imbibed the waters and danced from the afternoons until late at night in the local hostelries.
In the 1970s Jim White, Marcus's father and a former Fine Gael TD, bought the Hydro and applied his professional tourism acumen to promoting the town and the hotel. He hosted local match-maker Willie Daly who attracted love-seeking singletons from all over the world to call on his skills and contacts to find them a partner.
Meanwhile, the White family expanded their operations to include a tour business as well as other hotels in Clare and Kerry.
After Marcus took over the Hydro, he sought to extend the match-making season by welcoming LGBTQ+ visitors to The Outing, a match-making weekend that attracted over 60,000 people.
For decades boosted by Shannon Airport and the regional development company, Co Clare's extensive range of tourist attractions have became more widely known, including the Burren National Park with its limestone karst landscape and Lahinch which attracts surfers, golfers and lovers of traditional music.
The Cliffs of Moher as well as a range of beaches are also close to Lisdoonvarna, attracting tourists throughout the year.
After Russia invaded Ukraine, refugees were welcomed to the town and The Hydro proved a haven since then. Howeverm this is expected to change when the Government implements its policy of providing state accommodation.
The Hydro is expected to return to its heritage of transforming the world's singletons into happily married couples and families.
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Irish Post
36 minutes ago
- Irish Post
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He is an expert in sports betting and online casinos, and joined the company in November 2020 to work closely with leading bookmakers and online gaming companies to curate content in all areas of sports betting. He previously worked as a Digital Sports Reporter and Head of Live Blogs/Events at the Daily Express and Daily Star, covering football, cricket, snooker, F1 and horse racing. Responsible gambling A responsible gambler is someone who: Establishes time and monetary limits before playing Only gambles with money they can afford to lose Never chase their losses Doesn't gamble if they're upset, angry, or depressed Problem gambling – Gamble Aware – Help with gambling addiction If you have a problem with gambling, or you know someone who does, help is out there. Extern Problem Gambling is the leading provider of information, treatment, advice, and support for anyone affected by gambling harms across Ireland. Most read in Betting
Agriland
3 hours ago
- Agriland
Opinion: Irish tillage sector has been left in limbo
Irish tillage farmers have become increasingly frustrated at the lack of strategic vision coming from government regarding the future direction of their industry. And, truth be told, they have more than a valid point. Recent days have seen leading representatives from the Irish Grain Growers' Group (IGGG) expressing their views in terms of what is really going on within tillage at the present time. Their annoyance centres on a number of fundamental realities. Firstly, farmers committed to the growing of crops cannot generate sustainable incomes. And, in turn, this is leading to growers leaving the industry or, at the very least, actively considering their futures in it. But it was all supposed to be so very different. Prior to the last general election, the two main parties in the current government – Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil – each promised an additional €300 million of support for tillage during the lifetime of this Dáil. This works out at some €60 million per year. But, so far, there has been no indication of these monies being made available to growers in any sense. And, of course, prior to all of this, we had the publication of the National Climate Action Plan, within which is a commitment to grow Ireland's tillage sector to 400,000ha by 2030, a mere four years' time. Currently, the industry is just about treading water in terms of its geographic footprint. However, another bad harvest in 2025 could send the sector into a life support scenario. Meanwhile, everyone agrees that the tillage industry has an exceptionally low carbon footprint. And, on that basis alone, its future must be ring-fenced and further encouraged. Irish tillage There are lots of reasons why tillage farmers feel sore about the ways in which they feel politics has failed them. A case in point is the Food Vision Tillage Group. It was set up by the previous government and seen by many as the 'great white horse', empowered to map out a clear future for arable farming in Ireland. However, its report has come and gone with no formal response to its recommendations coming from either the current or previous administrations. And, of course, actions – or lack of them – always speak louder than words. Recent days have seen Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Martin Heydon chair an international agriculture and climate conference at which he highlighted the need for the development of more sustainable and climate-friendly food production practices into the future. It all strikes me as the perfect prelude for the minister to now issue his strategic vision for the future of tillage in Ireland.
