THE OWNERS OF Dundrum House in Tipperary have closed the site’s golf course and leisure facilities, resulting in 48 people being laid off with immediate effect.

The hotel grounds also has a centre for housing international protection applicants, which is unaffected and will remain operational. 

Local politicians last night received a letter about the news from public relations firm Red Flag acting for Brogan Capital Ventures Ltd, which owns Dundrum House.

“Unfortunately, the Company has had to make the difficult decision to cease trading with immediate effect and it will enter into a 30 day collective redundancy consultation process with its staff later this week,” he wrote.

“The Company is conscious that this will be very difficult for the employees and their families. Employees have been informed this evening and the company will be engaging with them and their selected representatives in the period ahead.”

He said the company’s new board, which was formed on 31 July, found that the shutdown was a “necessary step” because the company was loss-making and unable to repay its debts.

Tipperary TD Mattie McGrath lamented the job losses and called on the Minister for Enterprise and the Minister for Tourism to engage with the liquidator to explore ways the facility’s future can be secured. He also said he didn’t want to see the golf course and amenities fall into disrepair.

‘Dundrum Says No’

Last year, residents at the IPAS centre on site were subjected to a series of protests and regular intimidation from those who did not want them housed in the hotel. There were also issues with security and staffing, after many staff members were found to not be garda vetted and were subsequently sent home.

A months-long picket by locals involved signs such as “protect our children” and “keep Dundrum safe”.

One leader of the Dundrum Says No protest last year told The Journal that she and many of the community had “spent their summer” camped outside the gates at the hotel in their bid to prevent asylum seekers being housed there.

For months locals picketed outside the entrance to the hotel grounds RollingNews.ie RollingNews.ie

One man said there was a fear of the village becoming “unsafe” and losing out on its economic prospects due to the loss of the hotel.

The core arguments of many members of Dundrum Says No revolved around wanting to see it returned to commercial use and a belief that the area lacked services to accommodate new arrivals.

In light of the layoffs, McGrath now says families local to the area are “paying the price” of the IPAS centre being set up there. 

He said its presence was a “flawed arrangement” that should have never been allowed.

With reporting by Eoghan Dalton