Hotels
John Doherty
5-star Lough Eske Castle leads the way in ...

Lough Eske Castle, County Donegal’s only five-star hotel, has taken a significant step forward in sustainable hospitality through a comprehensive suite of eco-conscious initiatives. Leading the way is the castle’s full transition to renewable energy, achieved through a long-term partnership with a leading green electricity provider. The historic estate is now powered entirely by clean, renewable energy marking a key milestone in its ongoing commitment to reducing its carbon footprint and aligning with Ireland’s national sustainability goals.

This move to renewable power is just one part of the castle’s broader mission to embed sustainability into every aspect of its operations.

5-star Lough Eske Castle leads the way in eco-luxury with sustainability overhaul
Art
John Doherty
Lucian Freud & me: The real 'Donegal Man' ...

Irish Examiner - A major exhibition of Lucian Freud's work is currently on at Titanic Belfast. Marc O'Sullivan spoke to two of the key people who were involved with the German/British painter

Pat Doherty has the distinction of having sat for three portraits – two paintings and a copperplate etching – by the legendary British painter Lucian Freud. 

Several copies of the etching feature in the exhibition, Lucian Freud’s Etchings: A Creative Collaboration, which has just launched at Titanic Belfast in partnership with the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

Lucian Freud & me: The real 'Donegal Man' on his encounters with the great artist
Art
John Doherty
Freud exhibition with new immersive experience ...

A free exhibition celebrating the work of Lucian Freud has opened at Titanic Belfast, in collaboration with the V&A, giving visitors the chance to view over 60 of the renowned artist’s famous etchings as well as a new immersive experience created by the world-famous attraction.

Lucian Freud’s Etchings: A Creative Collaboration exhibition runs from Friday 2nd May until Tuesday 30th September in the Andrews Gallery on Level 2 of Titanic Belfast and charts Freud’s development as an etcher, from his early, tentative explorations to his later mastery of flesh and form through line.

Artwork featured in the exhibition will include Bella in Her Pluto T-Shirt (1995); Woman Sleeping (1995); Self-portrait: Reflection (1996); Pluto Aged 12 (2000) and Donegal Man (2007) – which has a special connection to Titanic Belfast as the sitter was Pat Doherty, the visitor attraction’s Chairman.

Freud exhibition with new immersive experience opens at Titanic Belfast
John Doherty
Harcourt Hotels Collection report strong start ...

The Harcourt Collection has announced a strong start to 2025, reporting group revenues up by 10% for the first quarter compared to the same period last year. The Ulster properties, Lough Eske Castle, Redcastle Hotel & Spa and Titanic Hotel Belfast, have been standout performers, recording an impressive 16% growth in total revenues year-on-year. The significant uplift was further bolstered by the €5 million investment in the Donegal Suites extension at Lough Eske Castle, launched late last year, which has helped deliver a remarkable 23% increase in revenue, against the same quarter in 2024.

Hotels
John Doherty
Think you know Belfast? Try this gem of the ...

Belfast Newsletter - Well well well. There is a whole different side to Belfast that I suggest many people have been totally unaware of - to their loss. So you are familiar with city centre shopping, Belfast City Hall, The Cathedral Quarter, the Ulster Museum and Botanic Gardens, the Golden Mile, the Victoria Square and environs, Lisburn Road and the Troubles Tours in the west of the city?

But what about the Titanic Quarter as a weekend leisure designation?
Never thought of it? Me Neither.

But that all changed with a stay in the delightful Titanic Hotel.

Think you know Belfast? Try this gem of the Titanic Hotel Belfast on the 'hidden' Maritime Mile

Doherty’s Harcourt agree €77.6 deal for London hotel

Doherty’s Harcourt agree €77.6 deal for London hotel

Donegal News - The International property company owned by Buncrana born developer Pat Doherty has just agreed a deal to sell its five-star hotel overlooking Chelsea Harbour in London for €77.6 million.

Harcourt Developments closed the deal to sell the Wyndham Grand Hotel to Millennium and Copthorne Hotels, a British based hotel operator.

The luxury hotel which comprises 158 suites, a spa and a restaurant overlooking Chelsea marina was put on the market as the capital’s only five-star luxury all-suite hotel.

Ireland's second biggest bondholder has Rolling Stones play private show

Ireland's second biggest bondholder has Rolling Stones play private show

Billionaire Edouard Carmignac is one of France's richest men, and his €50bn company, Carmignac Gestion, is now the second-largest holder of Irish bonds after Michael Hasenstab at Franklin Templeton.

The Rolling Stones played a private gig for his top clients recently and he plays polo where he hangs out with Prince Harry and Harcourt Developments' Pat Doherty...

Titanic Belfast had 800,000 visitors in year

Titanic Belfast had 800,000 visitors in year

BBC News - The number of visitors to Titanic Belfast has exceeded all expectations, according to Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness. The first and deputy first ministers were at the attraction to mark its first anniversary.

According to figures compiled by Stormont, more than 800,000 people from 128 countries visited Titanic Belfast in its first year. It had been predicted it would need 290,000 visitors a year to break even.

Still One Of The Caribbean's Best Resorts: Antigua's Carlisle Bay

Still One Of The Caribbean's Best Resorts: Antigua's Carlisle Bay

Forbes - The Caribbean is ablaze with resort pyrotechnics: Celebrity chefs! Underwater sound systems! Bath butlers and 90-foot “infinity” bars! Wasn’t the islands’ original appeal that they were a low-key, laid-back escape from all that?

Titanic Belfast : Will it rival Disneyland, Tate Modern and the Guggenheim?

Titanic Belfast : Will it rival Disneyland, Tate Modern and the Guggenheim?

BBC News - It is the biggest launch Belfast's waterfront has seen in a 100 years. The last one was the Titanic itself.

Now a century later the slipways are dominated by the imposing Titanic Belfast centre designed to commemorate the most famous vessel ever built.

Titanic endeavour: Simon Calder previews Belfast’s newest attraction

Titanic endeavour: Simon Calder previews Belfast’s newest attraction

Independent - A century after Titanic set sail from Belfast prior to her tragic maiden journey, a £97m tribute to the ship and her makers is almost ready.

"That's where she was built. That's where she was designed. That's where the workers lived." Noel Molloy is a man with a mission to explain – and entertain. He is project manager for Titanic Belfast, a structure as monumental as the ship it commemorates.

Like a magnificent liner in the final stages of construction, the shell of Northern Ireland's new landmark is complete. Sprouting from a quay overlooking Belfast Lough is an angular, aluminium-clad eruption. Imagine if Ikea made a flatpack ship, and someone had made a right old muddle of the instructions: that's roughly how Titanic Belfast looks.

Titanic project will be a success, says Peter Robinson

Titanic project will be a success, says Peter Robinson

Belfast Telegraph - The multi-million pound Titanic Signature Building in Belfast will become an international attraction, First Minister Peter Robinson says.

He and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness sprung to the defence of the project after a recent Audit Office report cast doubt over its long-term prospects.

The biggest single tourism project launched in Northern Ireland, the building will require an estimated 290,000 visitors a year to break even.

The luck of the Irish... Pat Doherty

The luck of the Irish... Pat Doherty

BBeyond Magazine - Pat Doherty, the man who built Harcourt Developments, is not a high profile tycoon. The unprepossessing Irishman is all about substance rather than style - his younger peers in the property developments business have much to learn from him.

He rarely, if ever, gives interviews because he doesn’t need to...

Belfast's £5bn Titanic Quarter development ‘where the city’s future lies’

Belfast's £5bn Titanic Quarter development ‘where the city’s future lies’

Belfast Telegraph - There could be no stronger endorsement of the £5bn Titanic Quarter development in Belfast than that delivered yesterday by University of Ulster chief economist Mike Smyth when he said “it is the future of Belfast”.

Yesterday banking giant Citibank unveiled its new offices at the development which has transformed the city’s waterfront area. Titanic Quarter can already claim Belfast Metropolitan College, Audi and the Northern Ireland Science Park, and many more businesses are expected to follow despite the tough economic times.

Jersey's Liberty Wharf shopping centre opens

Jersey's Liberty Wharf shopping centre opens

BBC News - After a six month delay Jersey's new shopping centre has opened its doors.

Liberty Wharf is based at the former abattoir site in St Helier and features Marks and Spencer, Pasty Presto and Costa Coffee.

Gerry Comaskey, of the builders Harcourt Developments, said work on the historical site had been a detailed and meticulous process.

Red line investment 'a winner'

Red line investment 'a winner'

Irish Independent - TAOISEACH Brian Cowen has described the decision of developers to pay more than half the cost of a new Luas line as a "win-win" situation.

The 4.6km line will extend the current Red line service by a further five stops to areas including Saggart, Cheeverstown and the Citywest business campus in Dublin.

New York mayor gives his seal of approval

New York mayor gives his seal of approval

Belfast Newsletter - Belfast is waking up to a new economic horizon, the man who leads the "city that never sleeps" declared yesterday.

Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York, one of the major figures attending this week’s US-NI investment conference, revealed how impressed he was with Belfast’s rejuvenation as he helped launch the new Financial Services Centre in the city’s Titanic Quarter.

Companies’ contribution to the arts ‘truly enriches our society’

Companies’ contribution to the arts ‘truly enriches our society’

Irish Examiner - HARCOURT Developments and Heritage Properties were among the winners of the Allianz Business to Arts awards, which were presented in Dublin last night by President Mary McAleese.

The awards, now in their 16th year, honour the contribution of businesses in Ireland to the arts.

President McAleese said last night: “The arts flourish where patronage is strong… At this event we get a clear view of what corporate social responsibility can accomplish when it allies itself to the arts.”

Peace fuels prosperity in NI

Peace fuels prosperity in NI

Irish Independent - The timing of the latest political breakthrough in Northern Ireland could scarcely have been more opportune for the ambitious £5bn Titanic Quarter project in Belfast - Europe's biggest waterfront regeneration project.

Final curtain on Smith Square - sold for £30m

Final curtain on Smith Square - sold for £30m

Daily Telegraph - The new owner of the former Conservative Central Office has spoken of the “buzz” of buying the site of 50 years of Tory election victories, and back stabbings and plots. 

The Daily Telegraph revealed today how Conservative Party has sold its famous former head office in Smith Square, Westminster, for £30.5 million.

The buyer is Irish property company Harcourt Developments, which counts Andrew Parker Bowles, former husband of Camilla, as one of its non-executive directors.

Building on what lies beneath

Building on what lies beneath

Irish Times - Vivienne Roche's sculpture garden in Park West reflects the presence of an ancient burial ground under the modern apartment blocks, writes Aidan Dunne, Art Critic

Park West, a residential, business and industrial development bounded by the M50, the Grand Canal and the main line from Heuston Station, is singularly well served with prominently positioned sculptures.

Relaunch for Titanic shipyard

Relaunch for Titanic shipyard

Daily Telegraph - The derelict shipyard where the Titanic was built is to benefit from a £1 billion plan that will see it transformed into the largest waterfront development in Europe.

The docks, which were once the industrial hub of Belfast, are to be converted into a new maritime quarter with houses, businesses, leisure facilities and tourism developments.

The regeneration of the Titanic Quarter on Queen's Island is being led by the American architect Eric Kuhne, who has been responsible for similar developments all over the world including Darling Harbour in Sydney and Mid Valley Gardens in Kuala Lumpur.

Northern Ireland's largest-ever development will create …

Antigua: The Big Easy

Antigua: The Big Easy

The Times - A luxurious winter break in the Caribbean provided the perfect opportunity for Julie Burchill to indulge her passion for hotels.

Maybe it’s something to do with being one of Mother Nature’s runaways, but I’ve never understood why so many otherwise sensible people have a problem with hotels - more specifically, why people who could afford to stay at gorgeous hotels choose to hire villas instead.

I grew up in a working-class family, yet when we went to the seaside it was to a B&B - never a flat - and when we went to Butlin’s it was full-board, never self-catering. My parents regarded those who chose to do their own cooking on holiday as uptight, penny-pinching freaks, and as in all things they were so right.