Welcome from Our Chief Executive, Michael Kearney
As Chief Executive of Carlton Hotel Group, I'd like to welcome you to the Carlton Hotel Group blog. The Carlton Hotel Group was established in 2004 and since then has developed as one of the premier Hotel Groups in Ireland. In the past 7 years Carlton has grown substantially from operating one hotel to having a presence in many locations throughout Ireland.
Through this blog it is my aim to give you an insight into what's going on in all of our hotels plus my opinions on current affairs, sports news, general activities and events. I will also occassionally invite some of my colleagues to write on the blog giving you more opinions and insights into what's going on at Carlton. If you have any questions or queries on any of the posts please leave a comment and I will respond at my earliest convenience. Enjoy reading.............
Posted: 2011-05-27 13:00:00
It’s all over now, both the Queen and President Obama have left and the Dublin traffic is back to normal, although still as busy as ever! One thing I meant to mention in my earlier blog post this week was Enda Kenny’s speech on Monday. Despite the negative comments made by some journalists, I would like to congratulate him on it and commend what he has done for Irish Tourism. I’d also like to mention some other (not strictly proven) information relating to President Obama that I discovered this week. After much searching through our family tree it turns out we may be distant relatives, wonder if I’ll be invited around for Christmas this year?!A big feature in the news this week was the return of the Icelandic ash cloud. Although we all feared we would be f ...
Posted: 2011-05-24 13:00:00
What a great weekend! On Friday I got to play a great round of golf at the Bunclody Golf Club and then on Saturday I travelled to Cardiff to watch the Heineken Cup final and the game certainly didn’t disappoint! Although by the end of the first half it looked like Leinster had been defeated they instead had one of the greatest comebacks in Heineken Cup final history. Leinster were crowned Heineken Cup champions for the second time following a 33 to 22 win over Northhampton. Hopefully they’ll make it two in a row this weekend in the Magners League Final against Munster on Saturday!Of course the big news story this week was President Barack Obama’s visit to Ireland yesterday. There were crowds around Dublin Airport as Air Force One landed shortly before 9.30 on Mo ...
Posted: 2011-05-19 17:00:00
Not only have we had a visit from the Queen of England this week but we are also expecting a visit from the 44th President of the United States of America, Barack Obama. According to reports, he is due to fly into Dublin Airport at 10am on Monday morning and from there will visit our President, Mary McAleese, at Áras an Uachtaráin. I'm hoping to make it into the Carlton Dublin Airport early to watch Air Force One land from the birds-eye view on our balcony! Although he is only here for the day he is planning to visit his ancestral home in Moneygall, Co. Offaly followed by a public speech at College Green. I’ve no doubt there will be a great turn out with most likely half of the country traveling to Dublin to see him and those that don’t will probably be ...
Posted: 2011-05-18 11:30:00
This week history was made and in time it’ll be one of those ‘where were you’ moments! The Queen of England arrived in Ireland yesterday morning making it the first time an English monarch has visited the country in 100 years. She is staying for four days and her itinerary includes engagements in Dublin, Kildare, Tipperary and Cork. I know that David Cameron is planning to join her later today and it looks like every photographer in the country is trying to get an image of his plane landing. I passed hundreds of them on the old Airport road on my way to the Carlton Hotel Dublin Airport this morning, and I’m guessing some of them have been there since early this morning. On behalf of the Carlton Group I would like to wish both the Queen and her husband a ve ...
Posted: 2011-05-06 14:00:00
I was delighted that Brian O’Driscoll’s decision not to attend the Royal Wedding paid off because his second half try played a crucial role in Leinster’s victory last Saturday. The atmosphere in the Aviva was amazing as Leinster went on to beat Toulouse and will make it to the final of the Heineken Cup in Cardiff. I’d also like to offer my commiserations to Munster as I must admit I was hoping it would be an All-Ireland Heineken Cup final but sure there’s always next year!Although they won’t be playing in the Heineken Cup, Munster are top of the Magners League and will be taking on Connacht tonight in Thomond Park. Connacht’s last game of the season is fast approaching and I know their fans from the Carlton Hotel Galway City will be takin ...
Posted: 2011-04-29 15:00:00
After a week of warm weather it was great that the sunshine held up for Easter weekend and we were all able to make the most of it over the long bank holiday weekend. Unusually I didn’t actually have any commitments over the weekend and it was great to get to spend the time at home. Although I must admit I overindulged slightly on the chocolate on Sunday but I’m sure I wasn’t the only one! The talk this week has been all about the Royal Wedding with discussions over who’s going to attend and what they’re going to wear. Although I wouldn’t normally follow fashion news all the talk about Kate’s dress over the past few weeks could not be avoided. I must admit though I wasn’t one of the 2 billion people watching Kate’s arrival to ...
Posted: 2011-04-22 16:30:00
The weather has really put everyone in good spirits and it is evident throughout the hotels, with everyone having an extra spring in their step. It’s unusual but great to see our customers dining al-fresco in the evenings! I must admit I’m guilty of having a few meals in the garden myself this week as I wanted to make the most of the good weather. It’s been a busy week around the group with the school holidays in full swing and the reports are that the kids clubs are full of activity, with a chocolate wonderland under construction in the Carlton Millrace in Wexford. Although our Dublin Airport hotel is busy with people travelling for the Easter break its great to see so many families choosing a “staycation” in Ireland instead. The Carlton Hotel Galwa ...
