Jennings back in

It seems that Pat Jennings, the prominent Castlebar hotelier and an associate of Enda Kenny, has retained some skin in the sprawling hotel and theatre complex that Bank of Scotland (Ireland) took from him. Islandeady Properties, a company with two of Jennings' children on its board of directors, has agreed a deal with KPMG receivers Kieran Wallace and Andrew O'Leary to buy the TF and Harlequin hotels, the Royal Theatre, Mayo Conference centre and a number of adjacent retail properties.

The properties were seized by BoSI in 2012 from Jennings, who promptly walked into the High Court to try and have them removed in favour of an examiner. The receivers remained in situ, and brought in a British company to run the hotels. Relations must have been restored at some point since, because Jennings' links to the buying consortium would have been obvious.

Islandeady and its partner, Lansdowne Francs, last week named him as the new artistic director of the theatre he once owned. His children, Patrick Jennings junior and Louise Jennings, both of whom live in Dublin, are also directors of Islandeady.

The complex will be run by Lansdowne principal Seamus Sutcliffe.