Owners of fire-ravaged hotel 'devastated'
Louise Walsh
The devastated owners of a Co. Meath hotel which was partly gutted by fire on Monday have said they are heartbroken for couples who have wedding bookings at the venue and have vowed to do all they can to support them.
Karen and Aogán Dunne watched helplessly as they saw the function room of their cherished Glenside Hotel in Julianstown engulfed by an inferno shortly after 12 noon.
Luckily everyone escaped from the hotel unharmed and the couple are hoping to be able to reopen the hotel, restaurant and bar as soon as they possibly can.
"We are just so thankful that everyone is safe, I don't think we would cope if anyone had been injured," Karen told the Late Lunch on LMFM radio on Tuesday.
"We are just heartbroken though for all the couples who are due to get married with us in the coming weeks and months. We sold them a dream, their dream wedding and I met with them each step of the way and now that we can't deliver, it is devastating.
"Our first priority is getting in contact with all those couples and trying to support them. Already, other hotels have been fantastic in reaching out with their support. We have already contacted the couple due to get married here this weekend and we thank everyone else for their patience and understanding. We will get to each and every one of them personally as soon as we can.
Karen says that as investigations are ongoing, she couldn't speculate on the cause of the fire until a report by the authorities was finalised. However, she also thanked the fire services for their speedy response to the blaze
The couple took over the hugely popular spot nine years ago and have developed it, through the challenges of Covid-19, to be a go-to spot for weddings and celebrations. The Glenside recently won the Best Family Run Wedding Venue in Ireland at the Wedding Dates Awards
"We have had so many people with happy memories here contact us to offer their condolences. And it really feels like the community has lost something so special to them, which in turn is a great compliment to us and our staff who work so hard each day and even continue to do so now as we struggle to keep up with phone calls and emails.
"We hope that in time, we can get the restaurant and bar and hotel rooms up and running again as soon as possible. And we hope to rebuild the function room and continue to realise other people's dreams but until then, we hope that with the support and love of the community and local businesses that our staff and ourselves will get through this."