The Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism launched Ireland’s first purpose-built sports hotel, Breaffy House in Castlebar, this week.

Minister John O’Donoghue launched the state-of-the-art €30 million Breaffy International Sports Hotel at a glittering event in Dublin.

The first purpose-built sports hotel in the country is located within the 90-acre Breaffy House Resort in Castlebar, Co Mayo, where the luxury Breaffy House Hotel is also sited. The development is a brand-new concept which is unlike any other facility in Ireland, combining superb hotel accommodation with state-of-the-art sports facilities.

Incorporating the Centre for Sports Training and Excellence, inspired and designed by rugby legend Keith Wood, the Breaffy International Sports Hotel has also appointed other sporting greats such as soccer’s Paul McGrath, hurling ace DJ Carey, Gaelic football’s Peter Canavan and the former Munster and Ireland rugby team manager Brian O’Brien, as sporting ambassadors.

The development incorporates a 30,000 sq ft multi-purpose indoor sports arena; a full size rugby/soccer pitch and a full size GAA pitch; muscle recovery ice baths; 120 bedrooms; 24 luxury residences, designed by Paul Costello; a 20-metre swimming pool; a Jacuzzi, steam room and sauna; and meeting, dining and bar facilities.

Speaking at the launch today in Croke Park, Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, John O’Donoghue TD said: “The Breaffy International Sports Hotel will be an exciting development. I am particularly impressed by the sports facilities being provided as part of the development, including the hotel’s own Centre for Sports Training and Excellence, which has been designed and inspired by our own Keith Wood. I look forward to the day when the Breaffy International Sports Hotel receives its registration from Fáilte Ireland and is officially opened.”

Michael Lynch, Managing Director of the Lynch Hotel Group, said: “The whole ethos of the Breaffy International Sports Hotel is based on ‘best in class sporting and hotel facilities’. The Lynch Hotel Group is proud to have made this investment to provide facilities that are unique in Ireland.”

Former Ireland and Lions rugby legend Keith Wood, who was commissioned as a design consultant, said: “What sets the Breaffy International Sports Hotel apart is the dedicated attention to detail. Nothing has been left to chance in providing a range of specialist facilities for sports training at a level unmatched in Ireland if not across Western Europe.

“The bonus of on-site training pitches designed to rugby, Gaelic games and soccer specifications, is augmented by the range of state-of-the-art gymnasium facilities and the sports arena, which in my experience combine to provide an unrivalled all purpose package ideal for all sports training camp programmes.”

David Byrne, Group Sales and Marketing Director of The Lynch Hotel Group, added: “The Breaffy International Sports Hotel provides the ideal venue for both team bonding camps and pre-season preparation camps for amateur and professional clubs. Our target audience are clubs from both inside Ireland and abroad. This will lead to a substantial boost to Ireland by way of inbound sports tourism and the creation of a great domestic demand.”

The Lynch Hotel Group specifically targeted the exponential growth of sports tourism taking place both in Ireland and overseas.

Information from: www.mayoadvertiser.com

This entry was posted on Friday, April 6th, 2007 at 11:34 pm and is filed under Hotel. Tags: development Dublin Europe hotel group Ireland Jacuzzi Residences Resort sports sports facilities Tourism Training Western Europe . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.