GAA’s birthplace goes under the hammer for €650k

The Thurles hotel where the GAA was formed 130 years ago this November has gone under the hammer after a nail-biting auction in the RDS this afternoon.

While three bank branches and a 23-unit apartment complex in Malahide were also up for grabs at the Allsop Space today, much of the attention focused on Hayes’s Hotel, a small and shabby midlands property which would most likely have gone largely unnoticed were it not for its unique place in Irish history.

The once thriving 30-room hotel in Liberty Square started life as 'The Star and Garter' in the 18th century and was bought by Eliza Hayes in the 1870s. In 1884 its billiard room was the setting for the setting up of the GAA by Michael Cusack. In recent years it fell on hard times and went into receivership in April last year.

Following a nail-biting 10-minute auction it was sold for €650,000 to a woman who had started the bidding on the premises more than €200,000 earlier.

On three separate occasions towards the end of the auction, which was presided over by Allsop Space senior auctioneer Robert Hoban, the woman looked to have secured the property - only to see the prized asset slip from her grasp.

With the bidding standing at €605,000, Mr Hoban asked the packed hall were they “all done”. Just after he had gone once, a “man in the pink shirt at the back of the room” came back into the game with a bid of €610,000.

The woman went to €615,000 and seemed to have done enough to win the contest when a new bidder entered the fray with a bid of €620,000. After that the bidding quickly climbed to €635,000, “with you, madam, still fighting the good fight”, as Mr Hoban put it.

He went through his going once, going twice, going three times routine and was just about to drop the gavel when “the gentleman in the pink shirt” decided to have another go and bid €640,000. This was topped by the most determined bidder who in turn saw her €645,000 beaten by €2,500 from the man in the bright shirt.

Her final bid of €650,000 was enough to secure the property, after which there was a ripple of applause throughout the room. “Well fought, Madam,” Mr Hoban said.

While the price was €150,000 above the reserve it was still €100,000 less than a guide selling price which was being quoted by estate agents at the beginning of the year.

It is as yet unclear who the new owner of the hotel is. In the run-up to the auction, calls for the GAA to buy the property had been intensifying.