Press Release

The 8 main awards were presented, followed by three enrolments into the Irish Hospitality Institute College of Fellows. A full list of the awards presented are listed below:

2015 IHI AWARDS LIST

The 8 main awards were presented, followed by three enrolments into the Irish Hospitality Institute College of Fellows. A full list of the awards presented are listed below:

Hospitality Manager of the Year 2015 - Hotel
Vincent O’Gorman, General Manager, The Westbury Hotel, Dublin 2
Award sponsored by The Irish Times.

Vincent Gorman’s career in the Hotel Industry began when he joined the Doyle Hotel Group as a Trainee Manager in 1994. From then until 2012, his experience included senior positions in The Great Southern Hotel, Dublin Airport; The Morrison Hotel, Dublin 1; The Fitzwilliam Hotel Group; General Manager for Park Plaza, Tyrrelstown, Dublin and General Manager of the Fitzwilliam Hotel, Belfast.

Vincent rejoined The Doyle Collection in 2012 as General Manager of the Kensington Hotel where he played a pivotal role in establishing the hotel as London’s Finest Townhouse. He returned to Dublin in May 2013 to take up his current role as General Manager of The Westbury Hotel, Dublin.

His leadership skills are adapted to best suit the individual and the situation, reacting in a considered manner when faced with difficult decisions. He is empathic and motivational and is known for his ability to develop individuals and teams.

Other achievements attributed to Vincent’s leadership skills in 2015 include:

• Best City Hotel & Best Brand Hotel (Hospitality Ireland);
• Best City Hotel Finalist (Hotel & Catering Gold Medal Awards);
• 7th place “Top 25 Luxury Hotels in Ireland” (Trip Advisor - Travellers Choice Award);
• Best Business Hotel Ireland (Business Destination 2013 Travel Awards)

Young Hospitality Manager of the Year 2015
Sean Reid, The Croke Park Hotel, Jones Road, Dublin 3.
Award Sponsored by Jumeirah Group.

Sean Reid began his career as a part-time bar assistant in The Croke Park Hotel, Doyle Collection. He then naturally progressed to management roles in Front Office and Food & Beverage. With his overall view of the business well developed, Sean has now been appointed Operations Manager. His studies in DIT Cathal Brugha Street in hospitality management combined with his practical experience left him with a superb grounding, which he has used effectively to develop through the ranks in Croke Park Hotel.

With his natural ability to lead by example and his enthusiastic manner and passion, his team follow him with ease. Sean has also developed successful relationships with the Management in Croke Park Stadium and with other external business connections.

Through upselling programmes, leadership programmes, employee opinion surveys and general positive communication strategies, Sean has co-ordinated a number of positive changes that have made a significant difference in how The Croke Park Hotel conducts its daily business.

Hospitality Manager of the Year 2015 - Human Resources
Ciara Jacob, The Gibson Hotel, Point Village, Dublin 1.
Award sponsored by Noel Recruitment.

Ciara has an excellent track record of academic and practical experience having worked and held Management Positions in Ireland and the UK.

Prior to joining the Gibson Hotel four years ago, Ciara was HR Executive in the 5 star Shelbourne Hotel, Powerscourt Hotel and Druids Glen Hotel. She also worked with Marriott Hotels in the UK and completed the Marriot Graduate Programme. She is very forward thinking in terms of her career and education.

Ciara is a natural leader in her field. Her position at the Gibson Hotel involves ensuring company practices, policies and procedures are fully adhered to. Ciara has helped drive standards to ensure the Gibson Hotel is one of Dublin’s leading 4* hotels.

Hospitality Manager of the Year 2015 - Catering
Niall Hooper, Aramark at Allianz Insurance, Elm Park, Merrion Road Dublin 4.
Award sponsored by Unilever Food Solutions.

Niall started his career in The Conrad International Hotel as a trainee in Kitchen Restaurant Service and Banqueting followed by trainee Restaurant Supervisor. He then moved on to Restaurant Six at Cassidy’s Hotel as Restaurant Manager followed by Duty Manager in Alpha Retail Catering - Dublin Airport and then General Manager- Catering in The National College of Ireland. This led to his appointment as General Manager Aramark Healthcare and then Regional Support/Project Manager. He progressed to Aramark Combined Services Manager where he managed the first combined services role for the company in Ireland. Niall currently holds the position of Aramark General Services Manager at Allianz Insurance.

As a natural leader who is positive and enthusiastic, Niall works well with his teams. He also holds Trainer Certificates in Food Safety and Manual Handling.

Hospitality Graduate of the Year 2015
Veronica Byrne, Graduate Galway Mayo Institute of Technology
Award sponsored by Classic Drinks Ltd.

Following completion of a Hotel and Catering Management diploma in the early 1990s, Veronica Byrne’s work experience indicates high levels of leadership and management skills in a variety of roles both in the UK and Ireland. As part of some roles she managed up to 100 personnel across a variety of establishments in the hospitality industry. In addition to her professional leadership experience, Veronica was chosen as Team Captain representing GMIT at the IHI Business Management Games in 2014.

She has achieved a distinction in a BB Hotel and Catering Management 2014 and completed the BA Degree Course with First Class Honours for when she received the GMIT Academic Achievement Award.

Hospitality Manager of the Year 2015 - Environmental
Raquel Noboa, Hotel Doolin, Co. Clare.
Award sponsored by EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).

Following Raquel’s arrival in Ireland in 1998, she worked as a housekeeping assistant at Fitzpatrick’s Hotel in Bunratty, Co Clare. Her potential was recognized and she was enrolled in the Hotel Management Trainee Program (TMDP) for The Fitzpatrick’s Hotel Group.

In 2004 Raquel travelled to The Maldive Islands to gain further experience. The following year she returned to Ireland as Assistant Manager of The Morgan Hotel, Dublin.

Raquel joined Hotel Doolin in July 2012 and became the Hotel’s Sales & Marketing Manager in 2015. She currently represents and markets the Hotel in all events, trade shows and meetings. She achieved the Green Hospitality Platinum Award in 2013; the Green Hospitality Member of the Year for Water Conservation in 2013; the Green Hospitality Member of the Year in 2014; the Green Hospitality Award in Green Procurement in 2014 and the Tourism & Entertainment Award at the end of 2014.

Hospitality Manager of the Year 2015 - Revenue
Valerie Steinbeck, Gleneagle Group, Muckross Road, Killarney, Co. Kerry.
Award sponsored by Bookassist.

Valerie joined The Gleneagle Group in 2011 as part of a change management strategy and participated in the creation of the overall 5 year plan, taking leadership on Revenue. Valerie gained complete buy-in from the group which was easily achieved when immediate tangible rewarding results were shown. While budgets and targets are set by the individual properties, Valerie and her team oversaw the strategies implemented that resulted in beating the 2014 and 2015 targets.

Valerie’s leadership approach and hard work in ensuring that the right strategies are followed has delivered great results.

Valerie attributes her success to her understanding of the analytical data available and its agility to make the changes required. She has implemented innovative software and developed the Affiliate Programmes.

Hospitality Manager of the Year 2015 - CPD
(Continuous Professional Development)
Karen Healy, Hilton Hotels Ireland,
C/O Hilton Dublin, Charlemont Place, Dublin 2.
Award sponsored by NetAffinity.

Karen is an advocate for the importance of Continual Professional Development in all industries and in her case, the hospitality industry. She has significant operational hotel experience and training qualifications. She is also a Brand Ambassador for Hilton Hotels Ireland and regularly champions new company initiatives. She supports new openings and trains new Cluster Training Managers.Moreover, she has a pragmatic approach to training. She is innovative and resourceful and, together with a team of Departmental Trainers, she ensures that there is no requirement for outsourced training providers.Karen’s hotels regularly achieves 100% compliance in the company Quality Assurance audits. Her hotels regularly track in the ‘Top 10’ of SALT league tables. She has contributed to annual HR Audits achieving scores in excess of 95% in 2015.

ENROLLMENT INTO THE COLLEGE OF FELLOWS

Ciaran Murtagh, Deputy General Manager, Slieve Donard Resort Hotel & Spa

Ciaran had an early taste of the hospitality industry working for his grandfather, a publican in Belfast during the troubled times of the seventies. On leaving school Ciaran took up a trainee management programme in Fitzpatrick’s Killiney Castle Hotel in 1977 from where he graduated in 1983.He then joined the Trust House Forte Group in East Anglia where he spent several years progressing to general management positions. Having spent some time with the Select Country House Group of hotels, he returned to The County Arms Hotel in Birr, Co Offaly.In 1991, Ciaran returned to Northern Ireland, first to Burrendale Country Club before joining The Hastings Hotel Group in 1993. Ciaran is currently General Manager at The Slieve Donard Resort and Spa in Newcastle, Co Down which hosted The Irish Open Golf Tournament in 2015. He has been heavily involved in the various developments in the resort over the years as well as the rebranding exercise following a £16 million development programme in 2006 which helped the hotel win many awards and place it amongst the leading hotels in Northern Ireland.
Sean O’Driscoll, General Manager, Muckross Park Hotel, Killarney, Co Kerry.

Sean is a Fellow Graduate of Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology where he received an Honours BA in Hotel & Catering Management. Following this, he joined The Great Southern Group and worked as Assistant Manager at The Great Southern Hotel - Dublin Airport, Parknasilla - Co Kerry & The Corrib Great Southern - Galway.

Sean moved to Killarney in 2004 and spent seven years as General Manager at the newly opened Brehon Hotel. In 2008, The Brehon received the Hotel & Catering Gold Medal Award for Best Four Star Hotel in Ireland. He was awarded the Young Hospitality Manager of the Year from the Irish Hospitality Institute.

In 2011, Sean became General Manager of the 5 star Muckross Park Hotel & Spa. During his time here, he has doubled revenues and created over 40 new jobs.

Sean, currently National President of SKAL Republic of Ireland, has previously served as Chairman of the Kerry Branch of the Irish Hotel Federation in 2010 and 2014. He has also served on the National Council of the Federation for five years, chairing the Employment Committee; was a member of the County Tourism Forum in Kerry for four years and chaired the County Tourism Marketing Committee.
Adrian Cummins, CEO, Restaurants Associations of Ireland

Appointed Chief Executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland in 2009, Adrian, a graduate of NUIG, has grown the Association to one of Ireland’s largest and most effective business representative bodies.

In 2013 he spearheaded the KeepVat@9% campaign for Tourism carrying this through to 2014 and 2015. Adrian, through his work in the RAI, has also founded the Annual Foodie Towns Award, a competition highlighting the excellent produce, restaurants, talents and foodie destinations in Ireland.

As Ireland’s elected representative on the Executive Council of HOTREC (the umbrella association of national trade associations representing the hotels, restaurants, cafés and similar establishments in Europe) since 2012, Adrian actively campaigns on European Hospitality & Tourism issues.

Adrian formerly held the position of Chief Executive of Marketing English in Ireland and the Irish Hospitality Institute. He currently sits on the boards of the Irish Tourist Industry Confederation, Food Safety Authority Catering Forum, Drinks Industry Group of Ireland, National Hygiene Partnership Committee and the Irish Academy for Hospitality and Tourism.

Award Sponsors & Additional Support

Award Sponsors

• Classic Drinks Ltd
  Kindly sponsored the champagne reception and wine throughout the evening meal
  as well as sponsoring the graduate award prize;
• The Irish Times;
• Bookassist;
• Noel Recruitment;
• EPA (Environmental Protection Agency);
• NetAffinity;
• Unilever Food Solutions;
• Jumeriah Group Dubai kindly sponsored the young Manager Award prize.

Additional Support

• Diageo Ireland sponsored the entertainment ‘CatchFire’;
• Deep River Rock sponsored the water for the evening;
• Java Republic sponsored the after dinner tea/coffee;
• IFSA sponsored the Menu Booklet;
• PictAural sponsored the Founders Banquet App.

Additional Thanks

Our chosen charity for the night was Hospitality Trust prize given by Stephens Catering (A 7 night stay in a Villa in Spain).
We would also like to thank the companies who kindly donated vouchers for our Golden Raffle. Thanks to the following:

• Guinness Storehouse;
• Slieve Donard Resort & Spa;
• Ballynahinch Castle;
• Abbeycourt Hotel Nenagh;
• Arial Townhouse;
• Fitzwilliam Hotel;
• Pembroke Townhouse;
• Crowne Plaza;
• Everglades Hotel;
• The Westbury Hotel;
• The Conrad Hotel.
• Dalata Hotel Group
• The Muckross Park Hotel