How Supermac's was almost a pool hall, not a fastfood chain

The temperatures were soaring as the great and the good of Galway hurling packed into the meeting room at the Loughrea Hotel and Spa last week. The All-Ireland final countdown was on in earnest for the Tribesmen with less than three weeks to go to the showdown at Croke Park.

After a 29-year gap, hopes of lifting the Liam MacCarthy are high.

Striking a suitably relaxed pose was midfielder David Burke, while Conor Cooney also faced the media microphones.

In the midst of the conference was Supermac's supremo Pat McDonagh who has been sponsoring his county's hurlers through thick and thin since the 1990s.

Naturally, he'll be hoping that a few supporters might make a pit stop on the routes home from Croke Park to dine at some of his 108 Supermac's outlets. Some might find their way to his Barack Obama Plaza in Moneygall, not too far from Joe Canning country in Portumna.

The Galway man who, along with his wife Una, has built up a diverse business empire valued at €110m, has never shied away from voicing his opinion on business and rural matters. His stance on insurance fraud brought the plight of small businesses to national attention. And he still sees Supermac's as a rural business.

The chain started up when he was denied planning permission for a pool hall in Ballinasloe in 1978.

Left with a building that was costing him money, he hired a local chef to show him how to cook, rolled up his sleeves and opened up his first fast food restaurant.

Since that first tussle with the authorities, planning is a continuing bugbear for him.

He also feels strongly about the two-tier society emerging in this country and says that rural areas are being allowed to decline while the cities power ahead.

The parents of young children are often left with little choice but to commute long distances into overcrowded cities.

"There is a lot of lip-service being given to rural development, but nothing concrete happening with it. It is an opportunity that is being missed," he says. "You hear a lot of talk about post offices being closed, garda stations, shops and pubs in rural areas but they can't remain in business if there are not enough people in the area for it."

More incentives are needed to try and help businesses to get off their feet and running outside the cities, he says, pointing to the success of the Shannon Free Zone as a driver of economic development.

"Governments should be creating an environment where entrepreneurs can take the opportunity and grow it," he says. "A lot of businesses start in their own backyard or garage. You've a lot of examples of that, the likes of McHale Engineering or Quinns in Athenry.

"Planning permissions need to be re-looked at in the development plans coming up in the next year or two in each county. It is very restrictive and a lot of red tape attached to it. Sometimes it is quite easy to object to it," he says, adding the US have a more streamlined system.

He diversified into the hotel business in recent years, acquiring the Loughrea Hotel and Limerick's Castletroy Park Hotel during the downturn. On this front, he says local authority rates are the biggest bill of the year. "If they would give reduced rates for five years it might help those starting out."

He also warns insurance is a major cost that continues to go up every year and must be tackled. "That is affecting jobs," he says, adding many transport fleets can no longer compete due to insurance.

"During the Celtic Tiger years people went a bit mad buying up here, there and everywhere. At one stage we stopped expanding as we couldn't make money on some of the places we were being offered, the rents were too high, the overheads were too high. So therefore there was nothing left for the operator," he says.

"Costs escalated too quickly and we're in danger of the same thing happening again. Especially as the bubble is growing again and too fast for it to be controlled in certain areas. I could see it happening again in the not-too-distant future if prices are not controlled. If you look at Dublin in the hotel business, prices are out of control when you are paying €200, €300 or €400 a night. The tour operators that stop at our hotel say they have to stay out of Dublin."

Yet, they are two totally different economies. "In a lot of areas the recession is still as bad as ever," he says.

Despite seeking changes at local and national government level, he has no intention of dipping his toe into political waters. "I wouldn't have the patience for it, so much red tape attached to everything," he laughs.