€35m hotel for Kilkenny

Spectra Photo owner Xavier McAuliffe is to invest €35 million in a 137-bedroom hotel and convention centre in Kilkenny.

When it is completed in November 2005, Lyrath Estate Hotel will include four bars, two restaurants, a spa and a 1,000-seater convention centre. It is expected to create 125 full-time jobs.

Lyrath Demesne, the stately home acquired by McAuliffe two years ago for €6.3 million, will form the centrepiece for the development. McAuliffe said ...