Irish couple invest €5.4m transforming local venue into 39-bedroom wedding hotel
An Irish couple are investing €5.4m into a venue in their home town to transform it into an ideal wedding venue, complete with ballroom.
Kilkenny-based Joe and Julie Comerford are pumping funds into the site in Castlecomer after being given the green light from An Bord Pleanala.
The existing small bed and breakfast, the Avalon Inn, owned by the Comerfords will be upgraded to a 39-bedroom hotel on completion.
Scaffolding has been erected and construction has already begun on the historic building which is centuries old.
A ballroom catering for up to 250 people is also planned for the new venue.
It is understood that the development will create between 30 and 40 new jobs, both temporary and full-time, a huge boost to the north Kilkenny town.
The project manager for the hotel is another local man, Seamus Brennan, who also acts as operations manager at the Comerfords, 307 bedroom hotel in Dublin, The Academy Plaza off O'Connell Street.
The hotel - which will be known as the Avalon House Hotel - will open in the middle of next year.
Councillor Maurice Shortall says there was unprecedented support for the project which "will be the catalyst for economic regeneration of our town and a terrific boost to our neighbouring parishes".
"Gone will be the days when overnight accommodation was a problem in the town the 39 new bedrooms will address that, while the function room and evening meals will add a new dimension to tourism and trade," he said.
"Real connectivity to the visitors to our Discovery Park will become possible last year alone some 110,000 passed through the Park. The project will provide numerous jobs both in construction and staff which are very welcome."
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