Spa and wellness centre plan for Kingscourt hotel

A NEW spa and wellness centre to include a swimming pool is to be built at Cabra Castle Hotel in Kingscourt.

Cavan County Council recently granted planning permission for the development which will see the construction of a spa and wellness centre at the hotel, which is located on the Carrickmacross Road just outside Kingscourt. Facilities at the spa and wellness centre will include a gym, a swimming pool, treatment rooms and internal and external amenity/leisure area as well as a restaurant and kitchen.

Also included in the development is a laundry, associated plant rooms and staff facilities effluent and pool waste water treatment systems, carparking, landscaping and all ancillary site works. The new building will be a detached building, which will be part single storey and part two storey. It follows the addition of a single storey detached civil ceremony building in recent years known as 'The Granary', which is also used for private functions and special events.

The origins of Cabra Castle date back to the 18th Century and was originally known as Cormey Castle. The Pratt family purchased it in 1813 and renamed it Cabra Castle in 1820. It remained in the possession of the Pratt Family until 1964 when it was sold to the local Brennan family who converted it into a 22-bedroom hotel which they operated until 1986.

Cabra Castle was then purchased by a group from the UAE with the intention of turning it back to a private residence once more. However, due to political and economic circumstances in the Middle East it effectively lay idle until 1991. Renowned hotelier family the Corscaddens purchased Cabra Castle in 1991 to add to their Romantic Castles of Ireland collection.

Since then, the property has been extensively refurbished and expanded to incorporate the former Courtyard and Gate Lodge. Six cottages were also built on the estate, bringing the total number of bedrooms to 105.