Clare court loses venue with hotel closure

EAST CLARE has been left without a court venue after a Killaloe hotel used for court sittings went into receivership.

The Kincora Hall hotel has been staging sittings for the Killaloe and wider east Clare district over the past 11 months after the sittings were transferred from the Lakeside Hotel in Ballina, Co Tipperary.

Court users, including members of the legal profession, were informed by e-mail yesterday of the hotel going into receivership and that Judge Joseph Mangan had directed that Killaloe District Court sittings for September and October would be held in Ennis.

Ennis is 31 miles away and east Clare-based mayor of Clare, Pat Hayes (FF), said: “It is disappointing, first of all, for the people who have lost their jobs that the hotel has gone into receivership and a loss to tourism in Killaloe.”

Mr Hayes said: “I would not like to see any more centralising of services by the Killaloe sittings staying in Ennis. It is important that such services are retained in the community.”

Killaloe man and former Clare councillor Tony O’Brien said: “The fear is that once the court sitting is withdrawn, it will be very hard to get back.

“It is sad to see the hotel close and it would be a real setback for the area if we were unable to hold on to our court sittings.”

Mr O’Brien said the Courts Service should renovate the existing courthouse in Killaloe, which ceased operating in the mid-1990s.

Gearóid Costello of Grant Thornton has been appointed by Royal Bank of Scotland as receiver to CC Hotels Ltd, operator of the Kincora Hall hotel.

Regional director with the Courts Service, Brendan McDonald, said the situation of relocating the courts to Ennis was unforeseen due to the hotel going into receivership.

Mr McDonald said it would be a temporary measure until the Court Service found alternative facilities in east Clare. “I would be more than happy to identify court facilities in east Clare whether it is Killaloe, Scarriff or Tulla.”

Mr McDonald ruled out renovating the existing courthouse in Killaloe.

He said the renovation costs would run into hundreds of thousands of euro. “We don’t have the money,” he added.