Hospitality Ireland

1 week ago | hospitalityireland.com | Emily Hourican

This article was originally published in the Spring 2025 issue of Hospitality Ireland magazine, in March of 2025. Ireland’s largest hospitality group, Press Up, has been renamed Eclective Hospitality Group. This change reflects the company’s eclectic mix of bars, restaurants and cinemas, now under new management and employing more than 850 people across 24 venues in Dublin. The new identity signals the next stage for the group.

2 weeks ago | hospitalityireland.com | Robert McHugh

Ashford Castle’s Cullens at the Cottage restaurant has reopened with a new seasonal menu featuring produce from more than a dozen local Irish producers, together with produce grown, picked, pickled, foraged and produced on the Ashford Castle estate. Cullen’s at the Cottage traditionally closes for the winter but planning starts up to 12 months in advance, with Ashford Castle’s head chefs collaborating with head gardener, Alex Lavarde, who oversees the estate’s kitchen gardens.

2 weeks ago | hospitalityireland.com | Robert McHugh

Spending in pubs had its highest day for the first three months of the year on March 16, the day before St Patrick’s Day, according to the AIB Spend Trend for March 2025. The data was compiled from 77 million card transactions carried out by AIB customers in store and online during March 2025.

2 weeks ago | hospitalityireland.com | Robert McHugh

Irish Ferries recently announced the addition of a new cruise ferry to its fleet, with an agreement to purchase the Star 1 from Tallink Hansaway Limited. The James Joyce will be the largest cruise ferry on the Irish Sea, with a capacity for more than 2,000 passengers, ample cabins and open space, and 2,380 lane meters for cars, coaches, and freight vehicles. It will also have the largest shopping space for any cruise ferry on the Irish Sea, with more than 17,000 square feet.

2 weeks ago | hospitalityireland.com | Robert McHugh

JP McMahon, the owner and culinary director of the Michelin-starred Aniar restaurant in Galway, is currently on a mission to inspire the next generation of food lovers by introducing them to wild and foraged Irish produce, fine dining, and the unique flavours of the West of Ireland. The initiative will see young diners enjoying a specially curated 12-course tasting menu, completely free, when dining with an adult throughout April and May.