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A LUXURY APARTMENT building, completed eight years ago but never occupied, in Wexford town is to be redeveloped by a leading Irish hotel group.
The Stonebridge building on Paul’s Quay in Wexford town was originally built as a lavish, 73-apartment complex.
Completed in 2008 just as the economic crash struck, the building has never opened for public use. It was listed for sale in September of last year with a guide price of €6.75 million.
Now it has been acquired by the Talbot Hotel Collection, the group behind similar ‘aparthotel’ complexes across the country in Dublin, Cork, Carlow and Wexford.
Their aim is to invest €2.5 million to complete the apartments and to welcome guests by the middle of 2016.
Investment
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, Madeleine Quirke, CEO of the Wexford town Chamber of Commerce, said that she is “absolutely delighted to hear this news”.
“This is a lovely building that has remained empty for a long number of years,” she said.
To see such an investment in it now is a very welcome addition to the hospitality side of our town.
“This a completely unique tourism proposition,” meanwhile Talbot managing director Philip Gavin said.
There is not a hotel in Ireland offering anything like this accommodation to guests, both in terms of the scale and the quality.
The accommodation will be aimed at the corporate hospitality end of the market it seems, while 20 full-time and 40 contract positions are expected to be created by the redevelopment.
Bouncing back
“This is a one of a kind tourism offering and a real game changer in terms of the accommodation offering in Wexford and even nationally amongst the Irish hotel sector,” a clearly delighted Talbot Hotel Collection owner Cormac Pettitt said.
Quirke meanwhile sees the good news as a clear sign that Wexford town is bouncing back in tandem with the rest of the country following the recession:
“It’s a very good sign,” she said.
Wexford has bounced back very strongly in 2015, and looking forward and working closely with the authorities and businesses in the town, we’re very confident of many more good news stories to come.
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Remember that this will only involve a tiny minority of troglodytic knuckle dragging sectarian bigots and the large majority of people in Northern Ireland ignore the Orange order or view them with total contempt.
Please don’t tar all the people in the North with the same brush due to the actions of people who are stuck in a 17th century time warp
True.
It is also worth noting that up to 20 years ago most Unionist politicians and most senior civil service and police men in the North were members of the Loyal Order.
How was peace ever possible when hate mongerers like that were in charge.
Why are they marching again?
Seriously.
They’ve been marching in Drumcree every weekend for 15 years up to a checkpoint, rationality and good PR are banned from the Orders.
Stick both sides in a field and close the gates and let them do what they want to each other. Leave the ordinary people who are sick to death of this out of it. It’s destroying whatever image Northern Ireland had regained all by a handful of yobs !!
Duncan. What “both sides”?
Might as well say we’ll stick you in there as well cause the only side in the field will be Orange hoodulums.
Why indeed?! It’s not like orange is slimming
Dying Bred
feck off Duncan, do us all a favour and read a book on it! Both Sides, bla!!
How silly and pathetic do they look in their bowler hats, white gloves, orange sashes etc with their flags and tin whistles in the 21st century!?
Pathetic bunch living in the past, hopefully this madness will die out with them.
Nice to think of them sweating like pigs in all that gear :-)
I once heard the Orange order described as Bowler-hatted Bigots. I haven’t found anything else that sums them up better
Bowler hats and gloves in July! Nobody in England behaves like that.
These parades and reactions are destroying their city and rolling back the progress. Why can’t they see this?
because they see it as “their city” as the Orange man shouted out to the Ardoyne residents on the 12th. “Yiz are 2nd class citizens, this is our country”.
They couldn’t care less what damage it does, long as they can feel they are better.
If this was any other part of the world they would be viewed upon for what the are – Protestant supremacists – instead they call it their ‘culture’ and get away with it
I wonder would they bother if the public sat back and ignored. They’re clearly looking for a reaction. As long as they get one…
You hit the nail on the head Niall.
Let them march … i wanna see them all pass out in this heat
I can just see it now, hordes of fat-faced loyalists skulling pints in the local bars since opening time, and looking forward to a day of tearing sh*t up in their own area.
Gobsh*tes, each and every one, but sure we already knew that.
Provocation? They have been rioting for a week and Catholics have been ignoring them. What provocation? They are throwing petrol bombs and bricks at the police for God’s sake. What is wrong with these people?
I hope its the irish national anthem that will be played before they disperse as maybe some of them need reminding that this is our country Ireland!
Oh yeh, let’s all break some heads over our favourite combination of sonic vibrations. Couldn’t give a rat’s ass for Peadar Kearney’s twee little song.
If you think these guys are bad, you should see the cretins that drag themselves across the water from Scotland to take part in these parades. I once had the experience of being on a ferry to Troon after the 12th and couldn’t believe the disgusting anti Irish, anti catholic chants they were singing on the boat…even though they were cautioned, they continued regardless and made me feel deeply uncomfortable. All pissed with beer dribbling down their ‘Gers tops, sad sad people.
If the Orange Order want to survive it might have to walk away from Belfast. The Buckfast and pills membership aren’t too civic minded or religiously inclined. It is just pure anti-Catholicism. At least in the rural North, the local farmer and doctor might not like their son to marry a Catholic or play GAA but they are moving away from the pure hate and triumphalism that defined the Order for so long.
One has a future the other does not.
Choose now or hit the highway (and if walking go via the bypass, not allowed march the other way. )
Man the cannons
More riots tonight so.keep it up lads ye are showing the world what ye are really like,and what nationalists have had to put up with for years
Would they not head up the Mourne Mountains or somewhere nice if it’s a walk they want. The Ardoyne is hardly the most scenic spot for a walk. Bunch of Muppets!
I think the world, or at least the world’s press, have already given up on Northern Ireland, its become boring to them. I live in Canada and haven’t seen one single mention of any of this, even on the 12th. Any news I’ve seen is on this site or BBC NI. I think the rest of Ireland and the North have got to do the same, don’t even give them time or space on TV or newspapers, they thrive on this. I lived there for 8 years and most of the people I worked with, catholic and protestant, could care less. They just want to get on with their lives, if we stop catering to this minority, they will eventually go away.
Good point, dont give them oxygen and hopefully they will just disappear, no media coverage in Aus either.
The loyal orders want this to be peaceful and calm yet they will bring along paramilitary associated bands, the same members who were beating at police helmets with ceremonial swords have not been disciplined and the same gang of thugs and drunks are being encouraged to come along. Orange Order members are stirring this up and will not be happy till a policeman or a Catholic resident is murdered.
Bunch of hoods and bigots who are only happen when they are rubbing it in their neighbours faces.
Orange parades do not have the largest marching drums in the world for no reason. Make the Irish papes quake behind their doors.
True Dylan but I’d say that the Orange Order don’t want this to be peaceful and calm. They’d have no march if that was the case. They want a show of force and like spoiled children they’ll hurl their toys out of the pram until they get their way. They’ll blame the police or nationalists or the parades com if there’s trouble, which of course there will be
Well done to the parades commission for not letting the Orange Order take the route they wanted. The orange lodge/order have organised a hate rally and this is an insult to the ordinary people on both sides who want a peaceful future for their children and there childrens children. God knows the good people of the north have suffered enough hurt and loss over the years.
A few rubber bullets will sort them out
Time to forget the rubber bullets and load a few live ones,that might get the point across
Send the bill for the damage and policing to the leaders of the orange order, when it starts costing them a fortune you won’t see them want to march in the ardoyne, make it a legal requirement for them to stump up the costs,
What a bunch of dipsh!ts!!!
every last one of em should be arrested for sheer stupidity
Nobody wants them – their irrelevance,declining social standing and plethora of little willies makes them angry
“Our Country – Our Community – Our Culture” Change the record!
Nobody wants them. That’s what hurts them the most!
Up to 15 years ago they ran the North, membership meant preference in jobs, in housing, in court. Every Orange man was a lord over Irish Catholics no matter how rich or poor he was.
Having to face the real world like the rest of us is the real hurt and cause of anger here. 300 years of preference done away with.
“THERE ARE CONCERNS that an Orange Order parade planned today could spark violence….”
Jeez, ya think?
A rare ineffectual comment by Gilmore. Irish governments are mandated to advance the international treaty that is the GFA. To say they have not honoured this obligation is putting it mildly.
‘A rare ineffectual comment by Gilmore’, its clear that you don’t pay much attention to the media…
Ought to have inserted “and” between rare/ ineffectual. But you get the gist . Irish Government – esp FG/LP out of their depth. Never involved – always ignored situations in north. Platitudes at crises times only.
Why can’t they just march in their own areas?
Off the record, I have heard an Orangeman say that if they are not allowed march through Catholic areas, what’s the point?
Where is the unionist leadership in all of this? Where are the calls for restraint, for respect of law and order? Absolutely disgraceful that these people are actually encouraged to engage in this type of behaviour.
Working class Protestants/Unionists/Loyalist have suffered greatly through lack of political leadership. They voted DUP who have turned out to be the northern Fianna Fáil. Like or loath SinnFéin, they have represented their constituencies well.
They have their heads in the sand regarding the future, they want to maintain the status-quo, they want to go back to the good old days.. Their leaders should be preparing them for an agreed and shared future on this island, based on equality and mutual respect. They obviously have a bit of a distance to travel. In fairness though, there doesn’t be a whole lot of trouble in Derry anymore around marching time, because there was dialogue and agreement. Belfast however is an entirely different kettle of fish.
An 11 year old was set on fire by 2 other children in Derry at the weekend. It just goes on and on. Another generation gone.
that truly is awful Dude but in 1998 the Orange men were able to get a 100k people to lock sown the North, they had the support of the British Army and the RUC. Several people were murdered in a week.
Some change, a few bad news stories do not reflect that change.
Anywhere else in the world, and that organisation would either be outlawed or pinned down in it’s own area.
Where are all the liberal/left wing groups that are always picketing embassies?
Are they planning on protesting outside the British embassy?
Payer shayer (power shower)
Shouldn’t that be “Par Shar”?
why are they left again? how much violence hate and destruction does it take before they make the obvious choice and ban these hate marches,it would be tolerated in no other country!!
“Any violence will play in to the hands of the republicans” says it all really!
They are such asses they wanted to march in the village of Drumcree in the south !
isn’t it the 20th of July? Long past the 12th. When do they finnish?
The Orange Order calendar goes something like this, January, February, March, March, March, March…..
The marching season runs from about April to October. the 12th is just the highlight. Many towns have monthly marches.
Taigs have short memories so the lovely Orange men make sure that they remind them of how low done they think they are.
Are you serious monthly marches, never knew, always thought it was only in July? Have they nothing better to do, remind you a bit of the KKK.
“We haven’t gone away you know” – I’m sure I’ve heard that somewhere before.
It’s mad, as soon as the “taigs” stopped, they seemed to pick up the batton straight away… then hit a peeler in the face with it.
F@ckin idiots, its like they’re determined to f@ck it up for themselves.
No doubt Tommie Gorman of RTE will implicate the residents of Ardoyne in this tonight & ignore Sinn Fein members who are actively working to avoid any confrontation from the Ardoyne!
More Of Tommies anti republican broadcasts!
My taxes pay for this!
I hope that one day we have a united Ireland and never have to hear about these lager louts again.
Here is hoping everyone has a nice day…
Apart from the residents of the Ardoyne who spend every maching season confined to an enclave every weekend, apart from the PSNI who’ll be battered with swords, bricks and petrol by the Orange men it will be a great day.
The UVF will be able to sell loads of party pills to get the mob hyped up, the DUP will be certain that the Alliance seat for the next Westminister election will return to them thanks to Loyalism out to punish moderates.
Well put Dylan good observation.
Calm before the storm
I’m assuming being such history enthusiasts, all these lads have been to the battle of the Boyne site? Or are at least aware what state that site is in? Hint its not ‘Awr Wee Countree’
Animals
Last few kicks from a dying mule. Have a look at the picture, almost Gods waiting room.
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