It’s the news everyone has been waiting for – Boyle may soon have a new hotel.
Liam and Justina Gavin from Drumanilra Farm have announced plans for a boutique hotel, restaurant, micro brewery and teaching kitchen on the site of the former Drumanilra Kitchen on Elphin Street in the town.
The hotel is currently at development stage and will be subject to planning permission being obtained.
Speaking to Boyletoday.com Justina said they would hope to submit planning for a boutique hotel with approximately 20 bedrooms, but as the plans are still being finalised, the number of rooms may change.
The progressive duo hope that their three planned business ventures – Irelands first drive through organic restaurant in Carrick-on-Shannon, a barbecue grill restaurant in Strandhill and the boutique hotel in Boyle, along with a new organic butchery and a packing and processing facility for vegetables and salads, will create 100 jobs and inject €7m into the North West over the next two to three years.
According to Justina Gavin: “We’ve pretty much made a career of setting up businesses in the hospitality and tourism sectors. However, from our early days working in East Africa, we’ve also always had an interest in social enterprise and rural development”. “We’ve seen at first-hand how local, small-scale food production and careful tourism development can sustain a community”.
“It’s been a dream of ours to pull all these interests and concerns together into a project of this type. We have a strong family links to the area and believe that this gorgeous place we live in really is an undiscovered gem with huge potential. There is no better time for a project like this. We are all living through the realities of climate change right now. The COVID pandemic has made so many of us reassess our food and lifestyle choices. We get calls every day from people asking how they can get involved and how can they buy the produce”, says Justina. The challenge now is to find more like-minded people to come on board and help us make it all happen!”
If you have an interest in sustainable food and farming, finding ways to live more gently on the planet, and have experience in farming, commercial gardening, HR, accounting, marketing, restaurant management, or if you are a chef with a passion for cooking with the best local ingredients around, the Gavins would love to hear from you. You can get in touch via [email protected] or find out more at www.drumanilra.ie
Minister Frank Feighan has welcomed the news this morning, saying: “This is another piece of the jigsaw falling into place for Boyle. I look forward to working with Liam and Justina Gavin to ensure their project becomes a reality. It is great news for Boyle.”
