New lease of life for historic Mayo hotel
Investors set to acquire property from council
Mayo County Council is set to sell the historic Imperial Hotel in Castlebar, The Connaught Telegraph can reveal.
The authority has received an offer from a leading boutique hotel chain for the building, which it intends to renovate in a major investment.
According to sources, the council has reached a decision to dispose of the property after securing a commitment that its unique history will be restored and preserved for future generations.
A plaque is erected on the frontage showing that the Land League was founded by Michael Davitt, James Daly and others in the hotel on August 16, 1879.
The premises was purchased by the former Castlebar Town Council after it closed down in 2009.
However, it has fallen into a state of dereliction over the past decade, much to the frustration of historians and members of the community.
The council received over €11 million from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage for the Castlebar historic core reactivation initiative.
This was to carry out restoration works on a number of projects in the vicinity of the Mall, including the Imperial Hotel, the old post office at Mountain View and the military barracks at Rock Square.
A total of €5 million of this sum had been set aside to transform the Imperial Hotel into an innovation hub.
In the event of the sale of the hotel proceeding, which appears to be inevitable at this point, the council will not be drawing down the €5 million in question.
However, this decision will not impact on the other planned projects.
The news that the Imperial Hotel is poised to be given a new lease of life as a boutique hotel is certain to be welcomed by the community at large.
The identity of the investors is unlikely to be revealed until the transfer of the property is completed.
It is understood elected members of Castlebar Municipal District have been briefed about the planned disposal of the asset, for which their approval will be required.